Root-preferential and stress inducible promoter and uses thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to the field of agriculture. In particular, the invention provides a promoter, a recombinant gene, plants comprising the recombinant genes and a method to improve yield of a cotton plant under stress conditions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of agricultural biotechnology, more specifically to the use of a transgene to improve plant yield under stress conditions. In particular, a method is provided to express a gene encoding an Annexin from Brassica juncea in plants to improve yield under drought stress condition. A stress induced root-preferential promoter is provided as well as an expression cassette for regulating the expression of Annexin preferentially in the roots under stress conditions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years the phenomenon of global warming and its effect on crop plant production has become a crucial issue. Solving this problem at the plant level is almost exclusively a question of coping with plant stress. International agricultural and environmental research institutions as well as companies now re-discover plant stress as a major component of the effect of global warming on local and global food production. Research to meet these challenges involves widely diverging disciplines such as atmospheric sciences, soil science, plant physiology, biochemistry, genetics, plant breeding, molecular biology and agricultural engineering.

Abiotic plant environmental stress constitutes a major limitation to crop production. The major plant environmental stresses of contemporary economic importance worldwide are water stress including drought and flooding, cold (chilling and freezing), heat, salinity, water logging, soil mineral deficiency, soil mineral toxicity and oxidative stress. These factors are not isolated but also interrelated and influencing each other.

A major challenge in agriculture practice and research today is thus how to cope with plant environmental stress in an economical and an environmentally sustainable approach. In view of the already existing regions exposed to abiotic stress conditions in the world and the ongoing climate change, the provision of transgenic plants conferring resistance on at least one kind of abiotic stress is still a major goal in order to achieve a satisfying nutritional situation also in regions exposed to such abiotic stress in the world.

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the world's most important natural textile fiber and is also a significant oilseed crop. Cotton production provides income for approximately 250 million families, and approximately 150 countries are involved in cotton import and export. Its economic impact is estimated to be approximately $500 billion/year worldwide. World consumption of cotton fiber is approximately 115 million bales or approximately 27 million metric tons per year (National Cotton Council, www.cotton.org, 2006). The genus Gossypium is relatively complex and includes approximately 45 diploid (2n=2x=26) and five tetraploid (2n=4x=52) species, all exhibiting disomic patterns of inheritance. Diploid species (2n=26) fall into eight genomic groups (A-G, and K). The African Glade, comprising the A, B, E, and F gcnomcs, occurs naturally in Africa and Asia, while the D genome Glade is indigenous to the Americas. A third diploid Glade, including C, G, and K, is found in Australia. All 52 chromosome species, including Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense, are classic natural allotetraploids that arose in the New World from interspecific hybridization between an A genome-like ancestral African species and a D genome-like American species. The closest extant relatives of the original tetraploid progenitors are the A genome species Gossypium herbaceum (A1) and Gossypium arboreum (A2) and the D genome species Gossypium raimondii (D5) ‘Ulbrich’. Polyploidization is estimated to have occurred 1 to 2 million years ago, giving rise to five extant allotetraploid species. Interestingly, the A genome species produce spinnable fiber and are cultivated on a limited scale, whereas the D genome species do not. More than 95% of the annual cotton crop worldwide is G. hirsutum, Upland or American cotton, and the extra-long staple or Pima cotton (G. barbadense) accounts for less than 2% (National Cotton Council, www.cotton.org, 2006).

In addition to its importance for the textile industry, cotton agriculture also provides cottonseed to feed livestock, dairy cattle and poultry while cottonseed oil is used for food products like cooking oil (National Cotton Council, www.cotton.org, 2016).

Although cotton plants are naturally very drought tolerant compared to other crops and are mostly grown without irrigation (Cotton Today) cotton yield is severely affected by periods of drought especially at peak flowering, with each day of drought stress reducing lint yield by more than 18 kg/ha (Gibb et al. 2013, WATERpak section 3.1, p 117-126).

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) is the world's leading source of vegetable oil and protein meal. The oil extracted from soybeans is used for cooking oil, margarine, and salad dressings. Soybean oil is composed of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. It has a typical composition of 11% palmitic, 4% stearic, 25% oleic, 50% linoleic and 9% linolenic fatty acid content (“Economic Implications of Modified Soybean Traits Summary Report”, Iowa Soybean Promotion Board and American Soybean Association Special Report 92S, May 1990). Changes in fatty acid composition for improved oxidative stability and nutrition are constantly sought after. Industrial uses of soybean oil which is subjected to further processing include ingredients for paints, plastics, fibers, detergents, cosmetics, lubricants and biodiesel fuel. Soybean oil may be split, inter-esterified, sulfurized, epoxidized, polymerized, ethoxylated, or cleaved. Designing and producing soybean oil derivatives with improved functionality and improved oliochemistry is a rapidly growing field. The typical mixture of triglycerides is usually split and separated into pure fatty acids, which are then combined with petroleum-derived alcohols or acids, nitrogen, sulfonates, chlorine, or with fatty alcohols derived from fats and oils.

Soybean is also used as a food source for both animals and humans. Soybean is widely used as a source of protein for animal feeds for poultry, swine and cattle. During processing of whole soybeans, the fibrous hull is removed and the oil is extracted. The remaining soybean meal is a combination of carbohydrates and approximately 50% protein. For human consumption soybean meal is made into soybean flour which is processed to protein concentrates used for meat extenders or specialty pet foods. Production of edible protein ingredients from soybean offers a healthier, less expensive replacement for animal protein in meats as well as in dairy-type products. Whole soybeans are an excellent source of protein and dietary fiber. Soy protein is the only vegetable with a complete protein as it contains all eight amino acids essential for human health. Most soybeans are processed, or “crushed” into soybean meal and oil. Most of the soybean meal that is crushed is further processed into animal feed with the balance used to make soy flour and proteins. Of the oil fraction, most is consumed as edible oil, the rest is used for industrial products such as fatty acids, soaps, inks, hydraulic oil, grease, biodiesel, solvent, plastics and other products. Food uses of soybeans include traditional soy-foods such as tofu and soymilk as well as meat analogs and soy-based yogurts.

Soybeans grow on a variety of soils and a wide range of climates, and most soybeans are produced in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, China and India. A given area of land planted with soybeans can produce much more protein than land planted with other crops, or if the land were used to raise cattle. Soybean is however particularly sensitive to pests like nematodes which can cause yield losses of more than 30% in heavily infested field. Combined with drought the impact of the nematode infection increases dramatically and can lead to complete yield loss.

Many genes involved in stress response mechanisms in plants have been described in the art and some were demonstrated to confer some level of stress tolerance to the plant. For example, such genes encode antioxidant enzymes, synthetic genes of osmolytes, molecular chaperones like HSPs, enzymes involved in the production of plant hormones like abscisic acid (reviewed for example in Hu et al. 2014. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 65:715-41).

Despite the numerous reports of genes conferring abiotic stress tolerance in plants, few actually report a yield improvement in field condition. This limited success, reviewed for example in Cominelli et al. 2012, New Biotechnol, dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nbt.2012.11.001, Lawlor 2013, J Exp Bot, Vol 64(l):83-108 and Tardieu 2012, J. Exp. Bot, Vol 63(l):25-31, is mainly attributed to agronomically unrealistic stress conditions and timing of stress application. Furthermore growth conditions are well controlled in laboratory or greenhouse experiments while field grown plants experience varying conditions and rarely a single stress. Genes conferring actual yield improvement under stress in field conditions are thus limited and the transferability of stress tolerance identified in laboratories or greenhouse experiments to field conditions is not straightforward.

To date, genes known to confer drought, salt or osmotic stress tolerance in cotton are the Arabidopsis vacuolar pyrophosphatase gene AVP1 (Pasapula et al. 2011, Plant Biotechnology Journal 9:88-99), the Arabidopsis EDT1/HDG11 gene involved in ABA signaling (Yu et al., 2016, Plant Biotechnol J, 14(1):72-84), the Arabidopsis LOSS gene involved in ABA biosynthesis (Yue et al., 2012, J. Exp Bot, 63(10): 3741-3748), IPT gene involved in cytokinin biosynthesis (Kuppu et al. 2013, PLoS ONE 8(5): e64190), the rice SNAC1 gene (Liu et al. 2014, PLoS ONE 9(1): e86895), the annexin 1 gene from Brassica juncea AnnBj1 or Gossypium hirsutum GhAnn1 (Divya et al. 2010, Plant Mol. Biol. 73:293-308 and Zhang et al. 2015, Plant Mol. Biol., 87: 47-67 respectively) and the heat shock protein gene GHSP26 from Gossypium arboreum (Maqbool et al. 2009, Biotechnol. Prog. 26(1): 21-25). Of those, only AVP1 was shown to confer a yield increase under stress in the field.

Annexins (ANN) form a multigene family and have been so far identified in both plant and animal kingdom. They encode calcium-dependent membrane binding proteins involved in the calcium dependent polar growth of cells like root hairs, pollen and cotton fibers. Annexins are defined by their highly conserved fold consisting of four or more repeats of a so-called annexin-repeat domain signature sequence (Barton et al. 1991, Eur. J. Biochem. 198: 749-760).

Annexins are ubiquitously expressed and their expression level is modulated by environmental stimuli like light, gravity, abiotic stresses and wounding suggesting a role in mediating stress response. Such role is supported by the discovery that ANN1s from Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica juncea were found to have peroxidase activity (Gorecka et al., 2005, Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 336(3):868-875, Divya et al., 2010, Plant Mol. Biol. 73:293-308), therefore able to act as cellular antioxidant.

The involvement of ANN1 in stress response was studied in Arabidopsis, tobacco, and cotton. Loss of function analysis of Atann1 and Atann4 mutants indicated an increased sensitivity to salt and osmotic stress as well as a reduced germination rate and growth following abscisic acid treatment (US application 2005/089872). Cantero et al. (2006, Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 44: 13-24) showed that AtANN1 is upregulated by cold, heat, drought and salt stress. The Arabidopsis Atann1 knockout mutant accumulates more reactive oxygen species and is more sensitive to severe drought stress than wild type. Arabidopsis plants overexpressing AtANN1 were found more drought tolerant as they could resurrect from a severe desiccation (Konopka-Postupolska et al., 2009, Plant Physiology, 150: 1394-1410). Furthermore, rice plants expressing AtANN1 constitutively or preferentially in the green tissues had an increased yield under both optimal and drought stress conditions (US application 2010/0170011).

Arabidopsis lines engineered to overexpress the Lotus Annexinl (NnAnnl) were found to have an improved germination rate under heat stress (patent application CN102229662).

The Annexinl gene of Brassica juncea (AnnBj1) is induced by ABA, salt and peroxide treatments (Jami et al., 2009, Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 47: 977-990). Tobacco plants constitutively expressing AnnBj1 were shown to be more tolerant to drought (mannitol), salt and oxidative stress in survival assays at the seedling stage (Jami et al., 2008, Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 46: 1019-1030). Similarly cotton plants constitutively expressing AnnBj1 had increased tolerance to salt, osmotic and oxidative stress at the seedling stage (Divya et al., 2010, Plant Mol. Biol. 73: 293-308). Furthermore, these transgenic plants were shown to maintain normal seed development and fiber quality when grown under salt stress (Divya et al., 2010, Plant Mol. Biol. 73:293-308).

In cotton, GhAnn1 expression is induced upon treatment with ABA, peroxide, salt and PEG (Zhang et al., 2015, Plant Mol. Biol. 87: 47-67). Germination and seedling growth of cotton plants overexpressing GhAnn1 was studied under various stresses. Overexpressing lines germinated faster and showed better seedling growth than wild type when subjected to salt or drought (PEG) stress, indicating a better stress tolerance (Zhang et al., 2015, Plant Mol. Biol. 87: 47-67).

Even though the prior art described an improved germination and early growth in cotton under various abiotic stresses, and yield increase in rice, the prior art does not reveal an increase of cotton fiber yield. There remains thus a need to increase cotton yield (lint yield and seed yield) under drought stress in field condition. To that end, appropriate expression (spatial, temporal) is also required. There also remains a need to obtain a more consistent increase in yield in plants, particularly under drought conditions, particularly in field conditions.

Genetic modification of plants to alter and/or improve phenotypic characteristics (such as productivity or quality) relies on the availability of a means to drive and to control gene expression as required. Indeed, genetic modification relies on the availability and use of suitable promoters which are effective in plants and which regulate transcription so as to give the desired effect(s) in the transgenic plant.

For numerous applications in plant biotechnology it is required to express the transgenes in a tissue-preferential and/or an inducible manner to avoid the undesirable effects the transgene expression could cause in other tissues or at times it is not required.

Root-preferential promoters are useful for expressing or down-regulating genes preferentially in the roots to get the desired function or effect, such as improving the resistance to soil-borne pathogens or root pathogens, improving tolerance to abiotic stress, such as temperature, water or salt stress, broadening the range of soils in which the plant may grow, altering root architecture, such as root density, or root strength, altering or improving nutrient uptake and/or nutrient use, modifying the interaction between the roots and above-ground biomass, or modifying metabolic pathways in the root.

Examples of root-preferential promoters include the RB7 promoter from Nicotiana tabacum (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,459,252 and 5,750,386); the ARSK1 promoter from Arabidopsis thaliana (Hwang and Goodman (1995) Plant J 8:37-43), the MR7 promoter from Zea mays (U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,848), the ZRP2 promoter of Zea mays (U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,363), and the MTL promoter from Zea mays (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,466,785 and 6,018,099), the pLTP and TIP2-3 promoters from Sorghum bicolor (WO2014/164399A1 and WO2014/159113A1 respectively), Class-H-Patatin-Promotor (Koster-Töpfer et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 219 (1989), 390-396), Agropinsynthase-Promotor (ags) (Inoguchi et at., Plant Phys. 149 (1996), 73-78), AKT1 promoter (Lagarde et al., Plant J. 9 (1996), 195-203), and TobRB7 promoter (Yamamoto ct al., Plant Cell 3 (1991), 371-382).

Stress-inducible promoters are useful for expressing or down-regulating genes specifically in stressful conditions to get the desired function or effect, such as improving the tolerance to abiotic stress, such as temperature, water or salt stress.

Examples of abiotic stress inducible promoters include the drought-inducible rd29a promoter from Arabidopsis thaliana (Yamaguchi-Shinozaki et al. 1993, Mol. Gen. Genet., 236: 331-340), the heat-inducible HSP81.1 from Arabidopsis thaliana (Takahashi et al., 1992, Plant Physiol., 99: 383-390), and the drought-inducible rab17 promoter from Zea mays (Morran et al., 2011, Plant Biotechnology Journal, 9: 230-249).

Few promoters combining both the tissue specificity and the stress inducibility have been isolated. Examples of such promoters include the shoot specific and drought stress inducible HPR1 promoter of Arabidopsis (Wang et al., 2009, Molecular Plant, 2(1): 191-200), the shoot specific and salt and drought stress inducible AISAP promoter from Aeluropus littoralis (Saad ct al., 2011, Transgenic Rcs, 20: 1003-1018), the root specific and osmotic stress responsive EgTIP2 promoter of Eucalyptus grandis (Rodrigues et al., 2013, Plant Science, 213: 106-113) and the salt-inducible and root epidermis specific btg-26 promoter from Brassica napus (WO 2001/055433, US2005044585A1), also demonstrated to be functional in barley (Good et al., 2007, Can J. Bot. 85: 252-262) and the promoter of its orthologous gene from rice OsANT1 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,982,093).

There is a need for further promoters conferring tissue-specificity, stress-inducibility or both, particularly promoters controlling stress-induced and/or root-preferential expression in plants, such as Gossypium plants, Glycine plants and Triticum plants.

It is an objective of the present invention to increase yield in plants, such as increasing cotton yield including lint yield or seed yield under drought stress in field condition. It is another objective to obtain a more consistent increase in yield in plants, such as cotton lint yield or cotton seed yield. These and other problems are solved as hereinafter described, particularly in the different embodiments, examples and claims. Also provided is a Gossypium promoter for stress-induced and/or root-preferential expression of genes of interest in plants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention provides an isolated nucleic ac id comprising root-preferential and stress-inducible promoter activity selected from the group consisting of (a) a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 or a functional fragment thereof; (b) a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least about 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 7 or a functional fragment thereof; and (c) the nucleic acid of a functional promoter hybridizing under stringent conditions to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or a functional fragment thereof; wherein said functional fragment comprises at the 400 bp sequence upstream of the transcription start of SEQ ID NO: 7.

A further embodiment provides a recombinant gene comprising the nucleic acid according to the invention operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding an expression product of interest, and optionally a transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence, preferably a transcription termination and polyadenylation region functional in plant cells. In a further embodiment, said expression product of interest is an RNA capable of modulating the expression of a gene or is a protein.

Yet another embodiment provides a host cell, such as an E. coli cell, an Agrobacterium cell, a yeast cell, or a plant cell, comprising the isolated nucleic acid according to the invention, or the recombinant gene according to the invention.

In a further embodiment, a plant is provided comprising the recombinant gene according to the invention. A further embodiment provides plant parts and seeds obtainable from the plant according to the invention. These plant parts and seeds comprise the recombinant gene described above. In another embodiment, the plants, plant parts or seeds according to the invention are cotton, soybean or wheat plants, plant parts or seeds. It can also be expected that this promoter would be functional in other dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants.

Yet another embodiment provides a method of producing a transgenic plant comprising the steps of (a) introducing or providing the recombinant gene according to the invention to a plant cell to create transgenic cells; and (b) regenerating transgenic plants from said transgenic cell.

Further provided are methods of effecting root-preferential, stress-inducible, and combined root-preferential and stress-inducible expression of a nucleic acid comprising introducing the recombinant gene according to the invention into the genome of a plant, or providing the plant according to the invention. Also provided is a method for altering biotic or abiotic stress tolerance, root architecture, nutrient use efficiency, or yield of a plant, said method comprising introducing the recombinant gene according to the invention into the genome of a plant, or providing the plant according to the invention. In another embodiment, said plant is a cotton, a soybean or a wheat plant.

Also provided is the use of the isolated nucleic acid according to the invention to regulate expression of an operably linked nucleic acid in a plant, and the use of the isolated nucleic acid according to the invention, or the recombinant gene according to the invention to alter biotic or abiotic stress tolerance, root architecture, nutrient use efficiency, or yield of a plant. In a further embodiment, said plant is a cotton, a soybean or a wheat plant.

Yet another embodiment provides a method of producing food, feed, or an industrial product comprising (a) obtaining the plant or a part thereof, according to the invention; and (b) preparing the food, feed or industrial product from the plant or part thereof. In another embodiment, said food or feed is oil, meal, ground or crushed seeds, soybean flakes, grain, starch, flour or protein, or said industrial product is biofuel, fiber, industrial chemicals, a pharmaceutical or a nutraceutical. Such food, feed or industrial products contain the root-preferential, stress-inducible and stress-induced root-preferential promoter described herein.

In another aspect, the invention provides a recombinant gene comprising (a) a plant expressible promoter selected from the group consisting of i) root-preferential promoter, ii) stress-inducible promoter and iii) stress-induced root-preferential promoter, (b) a nucleic acid sequence encoding an Annexin protein (c) and optionally, a transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence, preferably a transcription termination and polyadenylation region functional in plants.

In a further embodiment the root preferential promoter is the Pbtg-26GhD10 promoter.

In another embodiment the nucleic acid sequence encoding an Annexin protein comprises (a) a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14; (b) a nucleotide sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14 (c) a nucleotide sequence of a nucleic acid capable of hybridizing under stringent conditions to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14, (d) a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13 or SEQ ID NO: 15 (e) a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence having at least 80% identity with SEQ ID NO: 13 or SEQ ID NO: 15, (f) a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein comprising four or more annexin-repeated domains.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method to increase the yield, such as fiber yield and seed yield, of a plant, such as a cotton, a soybean or a wheat plant, compared to a control plant under stress condition comprising (a) providing to cells of said plant a recombinant gene comprising (i) a heterologous plant expressible promoter, (ii) a nucleic acid sequence encoding an Annexin protein (iii) and optionally, a transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence, preferably a transcription termination and polyadenylation region functional in plants, and (b) regenerating said plant.

In a further embodiment the heterologous plant expressible promoter is selected from the group consisting of a) a root-preferential promoter, b) a stress-inducible promoter and c) a stress-induced root-preferential promoter. In another embodiment said promoter is the Pbtg26-GhD10 promoter.

In a further embodiment the heterologous plant expressible promoter is a constitutive promoter. In another embodiment said promoter is the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus CaMV35S promoter.

In another embodiment the nucleic acid sequence encoding an Annexin protein comprises (a) a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14; (b) a nucleotide sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14 (c) a nucleotide sequence of a nucleic acid capable of hybridizing under stringent conditions to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14, (d) a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13 or SEQ ID NO: 15 (e) a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence having at least 80% identity with SEQ ID NO: 13 or SEQ ID NO: 15, (f) a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein comprising four or more annexin-repeated domains.

Further embodiments disclose the stress as a drought stress, occurring during the plant reproductive stage, on field-grown plants.

Another embodiment provides a method to increase yield of a plant. In a further embodiment, said plant is a cotton, a soybean or a wheat plant.

The present invention provides a method to increase lint yield and a method to increase seed yield. In a further embodiment the increased yield compared to a control plant is at least 5%.

According to the present invention, the method provided more consistently increased yield when the promoter used is selected from the group of root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoters, preferentially the Pbtg-26GhD10 promoter, compared to when the promoter used is a constitutive plant expressible promoter, preferentially the CaMV35S promoter.

The invention further provides plants, plant parts or plants cells comprising the provided recombinant gene. In a specific embodiment, the plant, plant part or plant cell is cotton, soybean or wheat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1: alignment of promoter regions of the btg-26 gene from subgenome A and from subgenome D of Gossypium hirsutum. The nucleotide sequence of the promoter of subgenome A (upper sequence) corresponds to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 from position 472 to position 1486. The nucleotide sequence of promoter of subgenome D (lower sequence) corresponds to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5 from position 2067 to position 3089. Differences in nucleotide sequence are indicated by gray boxes. Nucleotides which do not have a corresponding nucleotide in the other promoter region are indicated by dashes in the nucleotide sequence missing the nucleotides. The first nucleotide of each promoter fragment of ca. 0.6 kb is underlined. The predicted TATA box is double underlined while the transcription initiation start is wave-underlined. Predicted ABA-responsive element-like binding site motifs (ABRE-like motifs) are framed. Nucleotides between brackets are replaced by the sequence ACC in the T-DNAs due to the creation of a Ncol restriction site required for the cloning of the promoters. The translation START codon is indicated in bold. Overall identity between the two promoter regions is of about 78% sequence identity. Sequence identity between the ca. 600 bp upstream of the translation start of the two promoters is about 94%.

FIG. 2: Alignment of the amino acid sequence of different Annexin proteins. Amino acid residues conserved in all proteins are indicated by an asterisk. Conserved amino-acid substitutions are indicated by a column. Annexin-repeat domains are underlined. The 17 aminoacid endonexin fold region with its characteristic KGhGTDEXXLIpILApR motifs are framed. The conserved Histidinc residue for peroxidase activity is indicated in bold on a grey background. The conserved phospholipid binding sites (Tryptophan residues) are indicated in bold on a yellow background. The type II calcium binding sequences (GXGTD motifs) are highlighted in green. AnnBj1: Annexinl protein from Brassica juncea (SEQ ID NO: 13); AtAnn1: Annexinl protein from Arabidopsis thaliana (SEQ ID NO: 17); GhAnn1: Annexinl protein from Gossypium hirsutum (SEQ ID NO: 15). Amino-acids which do not have a corresponding nucleotide in the other protein sequence are indicated by dashes in the amino-acid sequence missing the amino-acids. Overall identity between AnnBj1 and AtAnn1 is about 91%, between AnnBj1 and GhAnn1 about 70% and between AtAnn1 and GhAnn1 about 72%.

FIG. 3: Alignment of the nucleotide sequence of different Annexin coding sequences. AnnBj1: Annexinl coding sequence from Brassica juncea (SEQ ID NO: 12); AtAnn1: Annexinl coding sequence from Arabidopsis thaliana (SEQ ID NO: 16); GhAnn1: Annexinl coding sequence from Gossypium hirsutum (SEQ ID NO: 14). Nucleotides conserved in all three sequences are indicated with an asterisk. Nucleotides conserved only between the AnnBj1 and AtAnn1 sequences are indicated with a column. Nucleotides conserved only between the AnnBj1 and GhAnn1 sequences are indicated with a semi-column. Nucleotides conserved only between the AtAnn1 and GhAnn1 sequences arc indicated with a point. Nucleotides which do not have a corresponding nucleotide in the other nucleotide sequence are indicated by dashes in the nucleotide sequence missing the nucleotides. Overall identity between the coding sequences is about 70% between AtAnn1 and GhAnn1 and between AnnBj1 and GhAnn1 and is about 89% between AnnBj1 1 and AtAnn1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is based on the surprising discovery that the expression of an Annexin in a plant lead to an increased yield under stress condition in the field compared to their respective control plants. Furthermore, the promoter sequence from the D genome of Gossypium hirsutum Pbtg-26GhD10 was found to exhibit stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity in plants. It was moreover discovered that the yield increase obtained when expressing an Annexin is more consistently obtained when the Annexin is expressed under control of a stress-induced root-preferential promoter than when the expression of the same Annexin is under control of a constitutive promoter.

In a first aspect, the invention provides an isolated nucleic acid comprising root-preferential and stress-inducible promoter activity selected from the group consisting of (a) a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 or a functional fragment thereof; (b) a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least about 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 7, or a functional fragment thereof; and (c) the nucleic acid of a functional promoter capable of hybridizing under stringent conditions to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or a functional fragment thereof; wherein said functional fragment comprises at least the 400 bp sequence upstream of the transcription start of SEQ ID NO: 7.

Promoter

SEQ ID NO: 7 represents the ca. 1 kb long sequence of the btg-26Gh-D promoter upstream of the translation start of Gossypium hirsutum. SEQ ID NO: 7 is a preferred promoter fragment in this invention, however alternative functional fragments may be used. Such functional fragment would preferably be longer than 600, longer than 700, longer than 800 or even longer than 900 consecutive nucleotides upstream of the transcription start site (SEQ ID No 7 nucleotide position 755) or be longer than 700, longer than 800, longer than 900 or even longer than 1000 consecutive nucleotides upstream of the translation start site (FIG. 1 nucleotide positions 1022-1024) and promote transcription of an operably linked nucleic acid preferentially in the roots and in a stress-inducible manner. A promoter fragment according to the invention may thus comprise a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 351 to the nucleotide at position 755. Alternatively, a promoter fragment according to the invention may thus comprise a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 251 to the nucleotide at position 755. Yet another promoter fragment according to the invention may thus comprise a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 151 to the nucleotide at position 755. Still another promoter fragment according to the invention may thus comprise a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 51 to the nucleotide at position 755. Yet another promoter fragment according to the invention may thus comprise a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 1 to the nucleotide at position 755.

The nucleic acid comprising the stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity according to the invention may also be comprised in a larger DNA molecule.

“Root-preferential promoter activity” in the context of this invention means the promoter activity is at least 2 times, or at least 5 times, or at least 10 times, or at least 20 times or even at least 100 times higher in roots than in other tissues. In other words, in root-preferential promoter activity, transcription of the nucleic acid operably linked to the promoter of the invention in the roots is at least 2 times, or at least 5 times, or at least 10 times, or at least 20 times or even at least 100 times higher than in other tissues. In other words, the root-preferential promoter controls root-preferential expression of the nucleic acid operably linked to the root-preferential promoter. “Root-preferential promoter activity” encompasses “stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity”.

“Stress-inducible promoter activity” means the promoter activity is at least 2 times, or at least 5 times, or at least 10 times, or at least 20 times or even at least 100 times higher when the plant or plant part is subjected to environmental stress than in control condition. In other words, in stress-inducible promoter activity, transcription of the nucleic acid operably linked to the promoter of the invention is at least 2 times, or at least 5 times, or at least 10 times, or at least 20 times or even at least 100 times higher when the plant or plant part is subjected to stress than in control condition. In other words, the stress-inducible promoter controls stress-inducible expression of the nucleic acid operably linked to the stress-inducible promoter. “Stress-inducible promoter activity” encompasses “stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity”.

“Stress induced root-preferential promoter activity” means the promoter activity is at least 2 times, or at least 5 times, or at least 10 times, or at least 20 times or even at least 100 times higher in the roots compared to other plant tissues when the plant or plant part is subjected to environmental stress. In other words, in stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity, transcription of the nucleic acid operably linked to the promoter of the invention is at least 2 times, or at least 5 times, or at least 10 times, or at least 20 times or even at least 100 times higher in the root tissues than in other plant tissues when the plant or plant part is subjected to stress. In other words, the stress-induced root-preferential promoter controls stress-induced root-preferential expression of the nucleic acid operably linked to the stress-induced root-preferential promoter.

As used herein, “promoter” means a region of DNA sequence that is essential for the initiation of transcription of DNA, resulting in the generation of an RNA molecule that is complementary to the transcribed DNA; this region may also be referred to as a “5′ regulatory region”. Promoters are usually located upstream of the coding sequence to be transcribed and have regions that act as binding sites for RNA polymerase II and other proteins such as transcription factors (trans-acting protein factors that regulate transcription) to initiate transcription of an operably linked gene. Promoters may themselves contain sub-elements (i.e. promoter motifs) such as cis-elements or enhancer domains that regulate the transcription of operably linked genes. The promoters of this invention may be altered to contain “enhancer DNA” to assist in elevating gene expression. As is known in the art, certain DNA elements can be used to enhance the transcription of DNA. These enhancers often are found 5′ to the start of transcription in a promoter that functions in eukaryotic cells, but can often be inserted upstream (5′) or downstream (3′) to the coding sequence. In some instances, these 5′ enhancer DNA elements are introns. Among the introns that are useful as enhancer DNA are the 5′ introns from the rice actin 1 gene (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,876), the rice actin 2 gene, the maize alcohol dehydrogenase gene, the maize heat shock protein 70 gene (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,874), the maize shrunken 1 gene, the light sensitive 1 gene of Solanum tuberosum, the Arabidopsis histone 4 intron and the heat shock protein 70 gene of Petunia hybrida (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,122). Thus, as contemplated herein, a promoter or promoter region includes variations of promoters derived by inserting or deleting regulatory regions, subjecting the promoter to random or site-directed mutagenesis, etc. The activity or strength of a promoter may be measured in terms of the amounts of RNA it produces, or the amount of protein accumulation in a cell or tissue, relative to a promoter whose transcriptional activity has been previously assessed.

A promoter as used herein may thus include sequences downstream of the transcription start, such as sequences coding the 5′ untranslated region (5′ UTR) of the RNA or introns located downstream of the transcription start. A promoter fragment according to the invention may comprise its own 5′UTR comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from nucleotide 756 to nucleotide 1022. As experimentally demonstrated the last three nucleotides from the 5′UTR of the herein described promoters can be exchanged for other nucleotides to create a convenient restriction enzyme recognition site. Thus a promoter fragment according to the invention may comprise its own 5′UTR comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from nucleotide 756 to nucleotide 1019. In combination with the above described promoter fragments, a promoter fragment according to the invention may thus comprise the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 351 to the nucleotide at position 1019, or the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 251 to the nucleotide at position 1019 or the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 151 to the nucleotide at position 1019, or the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 51 to the nucleotide at position 1019, or the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 1 to the nucleotide at position 1019 such as the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 351 to the nucleotide at position 1022, or the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 251 to the nucleotide at position 1022 or the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 151 to the nucleotide at position 1022, or the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 51 to the nucleotide at position 1022, or the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No: 7 from the nucleotide at position 1 to the nucleotide at position 1022. Alternatively, 5′UTR fragments from other genes may be used.

Promoter activity for a functional promoter fragment in roots and promoter activity for a functional promoter fragment under stress may be determined by those skilled in the art, for example using analysis of RNA accumulation produced from the nucleic acid which is operably linked to the promoter as described herein, whereby the nucleic acid which is operably linked to the promoter can be the nucleic acid which is naturally linked to the promoter, i.e. the endogenous gene of which expression is controlled by the promoter.

The RNA accumulation, or levels of RNA, such as mRNA, can be measured either at a single time point or at multiple time points and as such the fold increase can be average fold increase or an extrapolated value derived from experimentally measured values. As it is a comparison of levels, any method that measures mRNA levels can be used. In a preferred aspect, the tissue or organs compared are root tissues with other tissues of the organism. In another preferred aspect, multiple tissues or organs are compared. A preferred multiple comparison is root tissue compared with 1 or 2 tissues or organs selected from the group consisting of leaves and stems or leaf tissue under stress. Another preferred multiple comparison is tissues or organs under stress condition compared with tissues or organs under control condition. As used herein, examples of plant organs arc fiber, leaf, root, etc. and example of tissues are leaf primordia, shoot apex, vascular tissue, etc.

The root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential expression capacity of the identified or generated fragment of the promoter can be conveniently tested by operably linking such DNA molecules to a nucleotide sequence encoding an easy scorable marker, e.g. a beta-glucuronidase gene, introducing such a recombinant gene into a plant and analyzing the expression pattern of the marker in roots as compared with the expression pattern of the marker in other parts of the plant. Other candidates for a marker (or a reporter gene) are chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) and proteins with fluorescent properties, such as green fluorescent protein (GFP) from Aequora victoria. To define a minimal promoter region, a DNA segment representing the promoter region is removed from the 5′ region of the gene of interest and operably linked to the coding sequence of a marker (reporter) gene by recombinant DNA techniques well known to the art. The reporter gene is linked downstream of the promoter, so that transcripts initiating at the promoter proceed through the reporter gene. Reporter genes generally encode proteins, which are easily measured, including, but not limited to, chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT), beta-glucuronidase (GUS), green fluorescent protein (GFP), beta-galactosidase (beta-GAL), and luciferase. The expression cassette containing the reporter gene under the control of the promoter can be introduced into an appropriate cell type by transfection techniques well known to the art. To assay for the reporter protein, cell lysates are prepared and appropriate assays, which are well known in the art, for the reporter protein are performed. The level of enzyme activity corresponds to the amount of enzyme that was made, which in turn reveals the level of expression and the root-specific functionality from the promoter or promoter fragment of interest. This level of expression can also be compared to other promoters to determine the relative strength of the promoter under study. Once activity and functionality is confirmed, additional mutational and/or deletion analyses may be employed to determine the minimal region and/or sequences required to initiate transcription. Thus, sequences can be deleted at the 5′ end of the promoter region and/or at the 3′ end of the promoter region, and nucleotide substitutions introduced. These constructs are then again introduced in cells and their activity and/or functionality determined.

The activity or strength of a promoter may be measured in terms of the amount of mRNA or protein accumulation it specifically produces, relative to the total amount of mRNA or protein. The promoter preferably expresses an operably linked nucleic acid sequence at a level greater than about 0.1%, about 0.2%, about 0.5%, more preferably greater than about 1% of the total mRNA. Alternatively, the activity or strength of a promoter may be expressed relative to a well-characterized promoter (for which transcriptional activity was previously assessed).

It will herein further be clear that equivalent root-preferential, stress-inducible and stress-induced root-preferential promoters can be isolated from other Gossypium plants carrying the D genome like for example Gossypium raimondii, Gossypium barbadense and Gossypium darwinii. To this end, orthologous promoter fragments may be isolated from other plants using SEQ ID NO: 7 or a functional fragment having at least 600 consecutive nucleotides thereof as a probe and identifying nucleotide sequences from these other plants which hybridize under the herein described hybridization conditions. By way of example, a promoter of the invention may be used to screen a genomic library of a crop or plant of interest to isolate corresponding promoter sequences according to techniques well known in the art. Thus, a promoter sequence of the invention may be used as a probe for hybridization with a genomic library under medium to high stringency conditions. As an alternative equivalent promoters can be isolated using the coding sequences of the genes controlled by the promoters of SEQ TD NO: 7 to screen a genomic library (e.g. by hybridization or in silico) of a crop of interest. When sufficient identity between the coding sequences is obtained (for example, higher than 95% identity), promoter regions can be isolated upstream of the orthologous genes.

Suitable to the invention are nucleic acids comprising root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity which comprise a nucleotide sequence having at least 95%, or at least 98% or at least 99% sequence identity to the herein described promoters and promoter regions or functional fragments thereof and are also referred to as variants. The term “variant” with respect to the transcription regulating nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO: 7 of the invention is intended to mean substantially similar sequences. Naturally occurring allelic variants such as these can be identified with the use of well-known molecular biology techniques, as, for example, with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization techniques as herein outlined before. Variant nucleotide sequences also include synthetically derived nucleotide sequences, such as those generated, for example, by using site-directed mutagenesis of SEQ ID NO: 7. Generally, nucleotide sequence variants of the invention will have generally at least 80%, e.g. 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, at least 85%, e.g. 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, to 98% and 99% nucleotide sequence identity to the native (wild type or endogenous) nucleotide sequence or a functional fragment thereof. Derivatives of the DNA molecules disclosed herein may include, but are not limited to, deletions of sequence, single or multiple point mutations, alterations at a particular restriction enzyme site, addition of functional elements, or other means of molecular modification which may enhance, or otherwise alter promoter expression. Techniques for obtaining such derivatives are well-known in the art (see, for example, J. F. Sambrook, D. W. Russell, and N. Irwin (2000) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 3^(rd) edition Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press). For example, one of ordinary skill in the art may delimit the functional elements within the promoters disclosed herein and delete any non-essential elements. Functional elements may be modified or combined to increase the utility or expression of the sequences of the invention for any particular application. Those of skill in the art are familiar with the standard resource materials that describe specific conditions and procedures for the construction, manipulation, and isolation of macromolecules (e.g., DNA molecules, plasmids, etc.), as well as the generation of recombinant organisms and the screening and isolation of DNA molecules.

As used herein, the term “percent sequence identity” refers to the percentage of identical nucleotides between two segments of a window of optimally aligned DNA. Optimal alignment of sequences for aligning a comparison window are well-known to those skilled in the art and may be conducted by tools such as the local homology algorithm of Smith and Waterman (Waterman, M. S. Introduction to Computational Biology: Maps, sequences and genomes. Chapman & Hall. London (1995), the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (J. MoI. Biol., 48:443-453 (1970), the search for similarity method of Pearson and Lipman (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 85:2444 (1988), and preferably by computerized implementations of these algorithms such as GAP, BESTFIT, FASTA, and TFASTA available as part of the GCG (Registered Trade Mark), Wisconsin Package (Registered Trade Mark from Accelrys Inc., San Diego, Calif.). An “identity fraction” for aligned segments of a test sequence and a reference sequence is the number of identical components that are shared by the two aligned sequences divided by the total number of components in the reference sequence segment, i.e., the entire reference sequence or a smaller defined part of the reference sequence. Percent sequence identity is represented as the identity fraction times 100. The comparison of one or more DNA sequences may be to a full-length DNA sequence or a portion thereof, or to a longer DNA sequence.

A nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least about 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 7 can thus be a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least about 95%, or at least about 98%, 99% or 100% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 7.

A “functional fragment” of a nucleic acid comprising root-preferential and stress-inducible promoter denotes a nucleic acid comprising a stretch of the nucleic acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 7, or of the nucleic acid having at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 7 which is at least 400 bp and still exerts the desired function, i.e. which has root-preferential and stress inducible promoter activity. Assays for determining root-preferential promoter activity are provided herein. Preferably, the functional fragment of the root-preferential and stress-inducible promoter contains the conserved promoter motifs, such as, for example, conserved promoter motifs as described in DoOP (doop.abc.hu, databases of Orthologous Promoters, Barta E. et al. (2005) Nucleic Acids Research Vol. 33, D86-D90). A functional fragment may be a fragment of at least about 400 pb, at least about 500 bp, at least about 600 bp, at least about 700 bp, at least about 800 bp, at least about 900 bp from the transcription start site or at least about 600 bp, at least about 700 bp, at least about 800 bp, at least about 900 bp, at least about 1000 bp from the translation start site.

A nucleic acid comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 which further comprises insertion, deletion, substitution of at least 1 nucleotide up to 20 nucleotides, at least 1 nucleotide up to 15 nucleotides, at least 1 nucleotide up to 10 nucleotides, at least 1 nucleotide up to 5 nucleotides, at least 1 nucleotide up to 4 nucleotides, at least 1 nucleotide up to 3 nucleotides, or even at least 1 nucleotide up to 2 nucleotides may cover at least about 600 bp, at least about 700 bp, at least about 800 bp, at least about 900 bp from the transcription start site or at least about 800 bp, at least about 900 bp, at least about 1000 bp from the translation start site.

A number of putative response elements were identified on the promoter sequence disclosed herein. The search was limited to stress-responsive elements. Four ABA-responsive element-like (ABRE-like) motifs were identified at the nucleotide positions 186 to 193, 192 to 199, 223 to 230 and 235 to 242 in SEQ ID NO: 7.

Variants of the promoter described herein include those which comprise the identified ABRE-like motifs, but have otherwise been modified to delete nucleotide stretches within the sequence which are not needed for the promoter to be functional in root-preferential and stress-inducible manner. For example, any nucleotide stretch located between the motifs and/or between the transcriptional start and the first motif may be at least partially deleted to result in a shorter nucleotide sequence than the about 1 kb sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7.

Other nucleic acids comprising root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity can be identified using methods known in the art. Such nucleotide sequence may be identified and isolated by hybridization under stringent conditions using as probes a nucleic acid comprising the nucleotide sequences of SEQ ID NO: 7 or part thereof. Other nucleic acids comprising root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity may also be obtained by DNA amplification using oligonucleotides specific for the sequences according to the invention as primers, such as but not limited to oligonucleotides comprising or consisting of about 20 to about 50 consecutive nucleotides from any one of the nucleotide sequences of SEQ ID NO: 7 or its complement. Other nucleic acids comprising root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity can be identified in silico using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) homology search with other nucleotide or amino acid sequences. Functionality of the identified nucleic acids comprising root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity can be validated using the methods described herein. Other nucleic acids comprising root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity may also be identified by identification of gene sequences orthologous to the gene sequences of the endogenous coding sequences of the genes controlled by the promoters of the invention, and isolating and testing the promoter sequences upstream of these orthologous homologous coding sequences.

The promoters according to the invention can further be used to create hybrid promoters, i.e. promoters containing (parts of) one or more of the promoters(s) of the current invention and (parts of) other promoter which can be newly identified or known in the art. Such hybrid promoters may have optimized tissue specificity or expression level.

As used herein, “plant-expressible promoter” means a region of DNA sequence that is essential for the initiation of transcription in a plant cell. This includes any promoter of plant origin, but also any promoter of non-plant origin which is capable of directing transcription in a plant cell, i. e. certain promoters of viral or bacterial origin such as the CaMV35S, the subterranean clover virus promoter No 4 or No 7 (WO9606932) or T-DNA gene promoters and the like.

In a further embodiment the plant expressible promoter is a constitutive promoter. In another embodiment the promoter is the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus CaMV35S promoter.

Other examples of constitutive promoters include the promoter from the actin gene (McElroy et al. (1990) Plant Cell 2: 163-171), the CaMV19S promoter (Nilsson et al. (1997) Physiol. Plant. 100: 456-462), the GOS2 promoter (de Pater et al. (1992) Plant. J. 2(6): 837-44), the promoter from ubiquitin gene (Christensen et al. (1992) Plant Mol. Biol. 18: 675-689), the promoter from rice cyclophilin gene (Buchholz et al. (1994) Plant. Mol. Biol. 25(5): 837-43), the promoter from the maize H3 histone gene (Lepetit et al. (1992) Mol. Gen. Genet. 231: 276-285) or the promoter from the actin 2 gene (An et al. (1996) Plant J. 10(1): 107-121).

Recombinant Genes

A further embodiment provides a recombinant gene comprising the nucleic acid having stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity described above operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acid sequence encoding an expression product of interest, and optionally a transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence, preferably a transcription termination and polyadenylation region functional in Gossypium plant cells. In a further embodiment, said expression product of interest an RNA capable of modulating the expression of a gene or is a protein.

The phrase “operably linked” refers to the functional spatial arrangement of two or more nucleic acid regions or nucleic acid sequences. For example, a promoter region may be positioned relative to a nucleic acid sequence such that transcription of a nucleic acid sequence is directed by the promoter region. Thus, a promoter region is “operably linked” to the nucleic acid sequence. “Functionally linked” is an equivalent term.

The term “expression product” refers to a product of transcription. Said expression product can be the transcribed RNA. It is understood that the RNA which is produced is a biologically active RNA. Said expression product can also be a peptide, a polypeptide, or a protein, when said biologically active RNA is an mRNA and said protein is produced by translation of said mRNA.

Alternatively, the heterologous nucleic acid, operably linked to the promoters of the invention, may also code for an RNA capable of modulating the expression of a gene. Said RNA capable of modulating the expression of a gene can be an RNA which reduces expression of a gene. Said RNA can reduce the expression of a gene for example through the mechanism of RNA-mediated gene silencing.

Said RNA capable of modulating the expression of a gene can be a silencing RNA downregulating expression of a target gene. As used herein, “silencing RNA” or “silencing RNA molecule” refers to any RNA molecule, which upon introduction into a plant cell, reduces the expression of a target gene. Such silencing RNA may e.g. be so-called “antisense RNA”, whereby the RNA molecule comprises a sequence of at least 20 consecutive nucleotides having 95% sequence identity to the complement of the sequence of the target nucleic acid, preferably the coding sequence of the target gene. However, antisense RNA may also be directed to regulatory sequences of target genes, including the promoter sequences and transcription termination and polyadenylation signals. Silencing RNA further includes so-called “sense RNA” whereby the RNA molecule comprises a sequence of at least 20 consecutive nucleotides having 95% sequence identity to the sequence of the target nucleic acid. Other silencing RNA may be “unpolyadenylated RNA” comprising at least 20 consecutive nucleotides having 95% sequence identity to the complement of the sequence of the target nucleic acid, such as described in WO01/12824 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,423,885 (both documents herein incorporated by reference). Yet another type of silencing RNA is an RNA molecule as described in WO03/076619 (herein incorporated by reference) comprising at least 20 consecutive nucleotides having 95% sequence identity to the sequence of the target nucleic acid or the complement thereof, and further comprising a largely-double stranded region as described in WO03/076619 (including largely double stranded regions comprising a nuclear localization signal from a viroid of the Potato spindle tuber viroid-type or comprising CUG trinucleotide repeats). Silencing RNA may also be double stranded RNA comprising a sense and antisense strand as herein defined, wherein the sense and antisense strand are capable of base-pairing with each other to form a double stranded RNA region (preferably the said at least 20 consecutive nucleotides of the sense and antisense RNA are complementary to each other). The sense and antisense region may also be present within one RNA molecule such that a hairpin RNA (hpRNA) can be formed when the sense and antisense region form a double stranded RNA region. hpRNA is well-known within the art (see e.g WO99/53050, herein incorporated by reference). The hpRNA may be classified as long hpRNA, having long, sense and antisense regions which can be largely complementary, but need not be entirely complementary (typically larger than about 200 bp, ranging between 200-1000 bp). hpRNA can also be rather small ranging in size from about 30 to about 42 bp, but not much longer than 94 bp (see WO04/073390, herein incorporated by reference). Silencing RNA may also be artificial micro-RNA molecules as described e.g. in WO2005/052170, WO2005/047505 or US 2005/0144667, or ta-siRNAs as described in WO2006/074400 (all documents incorporated herein by reference). Said RNA capable of modulating the expression of a gene can also be an RNA ribozyme.

Said RNA capable of modulating the expression of a gene can modulate, preferably downregulate, the expression of other genes (i.e. target genes) comprised within the roots or even of genes present within a pathogen or pest that feeds upon the roots of the transgenic plant such as a virus, fungus, insect, nematode, bacteria. An example of pest control using gene silencing is described, for example, in WO2007/080127.

The nucleic acid sequence heterologous to the promoters according to the invention may generally be any nucleic acid sequence effecting increased, altered (e.g. in a different organ) or reduced level of transcription of a gene for which such expression modulation is desired. The nucleic acid sequence can for example encode a protein of interest. Exemplary genes for which an increased or reduced level of transcription may be desired in the roots are e.g. nucleic acids that can provide an agriculturally or industrially important feature in roots. Suitable heterologous nucleic acid sequences of interest include nucleic acids modulating expression of genes conferring resistance to root pests, like nematodes, and diseases, stress tolerance genes, genes encoding proteins involved in cell expansion and cell division genes involved in nutrient uptake, genes involved in metabolism or nutrient assimilation, genes encoding transport proteins, such as nitrate transporters including NRT transport proteins, ammonium transporters including AMT proteins, and the like.

Examplary genes for which an increased or reduced level of transcription may be desired upon stress are e.g. genes encoding protection factors of macromolecules (LEA proteins, chaperones), key enzymes for osmolyte biosynthesis (proline, sugars), detoxification enzymes (e.g. Super Oxide Dismutase), water channels or transporters, transcription factors (for example DREB2, AREB, MYC, bZIP, NAC) or genes involved in hormone signaling or biosynthesis (examples of relevant hormones are ABA, brassinosteroid, cytokinin, ethylene). Genes for nematode resistance are also of relevance (e.g., WO 1995/020669, WO 2001/051627, WO 2008/139334, WO 2008/095972, WO 2006/085966, WO 2003/033651, WO 1999/060141, WO 1998/012335, WO 1996/030517, WO 1993/018170, WO2008/095886, WO2008/095887, WO2008/095888, WO2008/095889, WO2008/095910, WO2008/095911, WO2008/095916, WO2008/095919, WO2008/095969, WO2008/095970, WO2008/095972, WO2008/110522, WO2008/139334, WO2008/152008, WO2010/077858, WO 2010/091230, WO 2010/102172, WO 2010/106163, WO2011/082217, WO2011/003783, WO 2011/014749, WO 2007/147029, WO 2014/003769, WO 2010/077858.

A “transcription termination and polyadenylation region” as used herein is a sequence that controls the cleavage of the nascent RNA, whereafter a poly(A) tail is added at the resulting RNA 3′ end, functional in plant cells. Transcription termination and polyadenylation signals functional in plant cells include, but are not limited to, 3′nos, 3′35S, 3′his and 3′g7.

The term “protein” interchangeably used with the term “polypeptide” as used herein describes a group of molecules consisting of more than 30 amino acids, whereas the term “peptide” describes molecules consisting of up to 30 amino acids. Proteins and peptides may further form dimers, trimers and higher oligomers, i.e. consisting of more than one (poly)peptide molecule. Protein or peptide molecules forming such dimers, trimers etc. may be identical or non-identical. The corresponding higher order structures arc, consequently, termed homo- or heterodimers, homo- or heterotrimers etc. The terms “protein” and “peptide” also refer to naturally modified proteins or peptides wherein the modification is effected e.g. by glycosylation, acetylation, phosphorylation and the like. Such modifications are well known in the art.

The term “heterologous” refers to the relationship between two or more nucleic acid or protein sequences that are derived from different sources. For example, a promoter is heterologous with respect to an operably linked DNA region, such as a coding sequence if such a combination is not normally found in nature. In addition, a particular sequence may be “heterologous” with respect to a cell or organism into which it is inserted (i.e. does not naturally occur in that particular cell or organism). For example, the recombinant gene disclosed herein is a heterologous nucleic acid.

The term “recombinant gene” refers to any artificial gene that contains: a) DNA sequences, including regulatory and coding sequences that are not found together in nature, or b) sequences encoding parts of proteins not naturally adjoined, or c) parts of promoters that are not naturally adjoined. Accordingly, a recombinant gene may comprise regulatory sequences and coding sequences that are derived from different sources, or comprise regulatory sequences, and coding sequences derived from the same source, but arranged in a manner different from that found in nature.

In another aspect, the invention provides a recombinant gene comprising (a) a plant expressible promoter selected from the group consisting of i. root-preferential promoter, ii. stress-inducible promoter and iii. Stress-induced root-preferential promoter, (b) a nucleic acid sequence encoding an Annexin protein (c) and optionally, a transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence, preferably a transcription termination and polyadenylation region functional in plants.

Any of the promoters and heterologous nucleic acid sequences described above may be provided in a recombinant vector. A recombinant vector typically comprises, in a 5′ to 3′ orientation: a promoter to direct the transcription of a nucleic acid sequence and a nucleic acid sequence. The recombinant vector may further comprise a 3′ transcriptional terminator, a 3′ polyadenylation signal, other untranslated nucleic acid sequences, transit and targeting nucleic acid sequences, selectable markers, enhancers, and operators, as desired. The wording “5′ UTR” refers to the untranslated region of DNA upstream, or 5′ of the coding region of a gene and “3′ UTR” refers to the untranslated region of DNA downstream, or 3′ of the coding region of a gene. Means for preparing recombinant vectors are well known in the art. Methods for making recombinant vectors particularly suited to plant transformation are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,971,908, 4,940,835, 4,769,061 and 4,757,011. Typical vectors useful for expression of nucleic acids in higher plants are well known in the art and include vectors derived from the tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. One or more additional promoters may also be provided in the recombinant vector. These promoters may be operably linked, for example, without limitation, to any of the nucleic acid sequences described above. Alternatively, the promoters may be operably linked to other nucleic acid sequences, such as those encoding transit peptides, selectable marker proteins, or antisense sequences. These additional promoters may be selected on the basis of the cell type into which the vector will be inserted. Also, promoters which function in bacteria, yeast, and plants are all well taught in the art. The additional promoters may also be selected on the basis of their regulatory features. Examples of such features include enhancement of transcriptional activity, inducibility, tissue specificity, and developmental stage-specificity.

The recombinant vector may also contain one or more additional nucleic acid sequences. These additional nucleic acid sequences may generally be any sequences suitable for use in a recombinant vector. Such nucleic acid sequences include, without limitation, any of the nucleic acid sequences, and modified forms thereof, described above. The additional structural nucleic acid sequences may also be operably linked to any of the above described promoters. The one or more structural nucleic acid sequences may each be operably linked to separate promoters. Alternatively, the structural nucleic acid sequences may be operably linked to a single promoter (i.e. a single operon).

Annexins

Suitable for the invention are nucleic acids, encoding an Annexin protein, which comprise a nucleotide sequence having at least 40%, at least 50%, or at least 60%, or at least 70%, or at least 80%, or at least 85%, or at least 90%, or at least 95%, or at least 98% sequence identity to the herein described gene and arc also referred to as variants. The term “variant” with respect to the nucleotide sequences SEQ ID NO: 12 and SEQ ID NO: 14 of the invention is intended to mean substantially similar sequences. Naturally occurring allelic variants such as these can be identified with the use of well-known molecular biology techniques, as, for example, with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization techniques as herein outlined before. Variant nucleotide sequences also include synthetically derived nucleotide sequences, such as those generated, for example, by using site-directed mutagenesis of any one of SEQ ID NOs 12 or 14. Generally, nucleotide sequence variants of the invention will have at least 40%, 50%, 60%, to 70%, e.g., preferably 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, to 79%, generally at least 80%, e.g., 81% to 84%, at least 85%, e.g., 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, to 98% and 99% nucleotide sequence identity to the native (wild type or endogenous) nucleotide sequence. Derivatives of the DNA molecules disclosed herein may include, but are not limited to, deletions of sequence, single or multiple point mutations, alterations at a particular restriction enzyme site, addition of functional elements, or other means of molecular modification. Techniques for obtaining such derivatives are well-known in the art (see, for example, J. F. Sambrook, D. W. Russell, and N. Irwin (2000) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 3^(rd) edition Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press). Those of skill in the art are familiar with the standard resource materials that describe specific conditions and procedures for the construction, manipulation, and isolation of macromolecules (e.g., DNA molecules, plasmids, etc.), as well as the generation of recombinant organisms and the screening and isolation of DNA molecules.

The term “percent sequence identity” is used in this section as defined above.

A nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 80% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14 can thus be a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 80%, or at least 85%, or at least 90%, or at least 95%, or at least 98%, or 100% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14 respectively.

In a preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid sequence, encoding an Annexin protein, comprises (a) a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14; (b) a nucleotide sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14 (c) a nucleotide sequence of a nucleic acid capable of hybridizing under stringent conditions to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14, (d) a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13 or SEQ ID NO: 15 (e) a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence having 80% identity with SEQ ID NO: 13 or SEQ ID NO: 15, (f) a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein comprising four or more annexin-repeat domains.

SEQ ID NO: 12 represents the nucleotide sequence of the AnnBj1 gene, SEQ ID NO: 14 represents the nucleotide sequence of the GhAnn1 gene, SEQ ID NO: 13 represents the amino-acid sequence of the AnnBj1 protein and SEQ ID NO: 15 represents the amino-acid sequence of the GhAnn1 protein.

Annexins are defined by their highly conserved fold consisting of four or more repeats of a so-called annexin-repeat domain signature sequence. The annexin-repeat domains are known in the Pfam database as PF00191, in the Interpro database as IPR001464, and in the smart database as SM00335. Each repeat consists of a five-helix bundle. An endonexin fold can be identified at the start of each repeat. Calcium binding occurs in type II binding sites established in the endonexin fold regions of the first and fourth repeats. Further particular amino-acid are essential to the Annexin function: a tryptophan and a histidine in the first endonexin fold, a tryptophan at the end of the first annexin repeat domain and an isoleucine-arginine-isoleucine in the third endonexin fold (FIG. 2).

Though the invention preferably uses nucleic acid encoding the AnnBj1 from Brassica juncea, nucleic acids encoding other Annexins can be used. Examples of such proteins are: Q67EX8, EOZQA2, D2JYA7, A0A078HJR9, X2JGY9, A0A078CEH0, D9J167, M4F009, D7KLX8, Q9SYTO, D2JYA6, ROGQT5, A0A078HYS1, M4F6Q4, A0A087G1V1, A0A078DROO, V4LGL7, A0A061FNB4, A0A067GQH6, V4T729, M4N630, 082090, S5GFP3, P93157, A9PA39, G3E7M9, M4MZO2, M5XRZ4, A9PH68, A0A059BS83, A0A067KYU4, M4FEQ6, K9JGF9, I3SZS2, A0A067LQJ4, B9RJJ1, 022341, S5G971, A0A059B7W7, A0A061DJJ7, A5BTZ8, G7KB73, A0A059B7M2, A0A059B7C5, Q9XEN8, A0A068TXQ7, K4BSR4, A0A059B8A3, A0A059B8Z0, Q42657, M5W098, Q9SB88, Q9ZRU7, P93158, A0A059BRT1, 024131, B9HFG8, MOZNV9, B9H529, C6TFT8, I3RZY7, M4MX74, Q69DC2, LOAU94, LOASQ7, V7B5 V0, Q9M3H3, O81536, O24132, M4MX50, A0A068TYU6, ROG7 S3, 081535, A0A022R8D3, A0A067ERS2, A0A078FJE4, M4E6E2, I3Y171, Q2XTE7, V7CRX1, A5B479, Q9XEE2, Q42922, A9X4R2, D7MT72, A0A072TF84, V4MJ15, A0A078H8V3, W9QYY2, M4ESWO, A0A087GE86, X2JPM6, Q9LX07, V4VZP8, B3TLY9, Q4ABP7, A0A078BZL8, A9X4R1, V4KSN9, B7U9R9.

Furthermore, it is clear that variants of Annexin proteins, wherein one or more amino acid residues have been deleted, substituted or inserted, can also be used to the same effect in the methods according to the invention, provided that the Annexin repeat domains are not affected by the deletion, substitution or insertion of amino-acid. These variant Annexin proteins may have about 95% sequence identity to any one of the herein mentioned Annex in proteins.

Examples of substitutions are the conservative substitutions, i.e. substitutions of one amino-acid by another having similar physiochemical properties. These substitutions arc known not to affect the structure of a protein. Such substitutions are achieved by replacing one aminoacid by another aminoacid belonging to the same group as follows: Group 1: Cysteine (C);

Group 2: Phenylalanine (F), Tryptophan (W) and Tyrosine (Y); Group 3: Histidine (H), Lysing K) and Arginine (R);

Group 4: Aspartic acid (D), Glutamic acid (E), Asparagine (N) and Glutamine (Q);

Group 5: Isoleucine (I), Leucine (L), Methionine (M) and Valine (V); Group 6: Alanine (A), Glycine (G), Proline (P), Serine (S) and Threonine (T). Host Cells and Plants

Yet other embodiments provide a host cell, such as an E. coli cell, an Agrobacterium cell, a yeast cell, or a plant cell, comprising the isolated nucleic acid according to the invention, or the recombinant genes according to the invention.

Other nucleic acid sequences may also be introduced into the host cell along with the promoter and structural nucleic acid sequence, e. g. also in connection with the vector of the invention. These other sequences may include 3′ transcriptional terminators, 3′ polyadenylation signals, other untranslated nucleic acid sequences, transit or targeting sequences, selectable markers, enhancers, and operators. Preferred nucleic acid sequences of the present invention, including recombinant vectors, structural nucleic acid sequences, promoters, and other regulatory elements, are described above.

In further embodiments, a plant is provided comprising any of the recombinant genes according to the invention. A further embodiment provides plant parts and seeds obtainable from the plant according to the invention. These plant parts and seeds comprise the recombinant genes described above. In another embodiment, the plants, plant parts or seeds according to the invention are cotton, soybean or wheat plants, plant parts or seeds.

The plant cell or plant comprising any of the recombinant gene according to the invention can be a plant cell or a plant comprising a recombinant gene of which either the promoter, or the heterologous nucleic acid sequence operably linked to said promoter, are heterologous with respect to the plant cell. Such plant cells or plants may be transgenic plant in which the recombinant gene is introduced via transformation. Alternatively, the plant cell of plant may comprise the promoter according to the invention derived from the same species operably linked to a nucleic acid which is also derived from the same species, i.e. neither the promoter nor the operably linked nucleic acid is heterologous with respect to the plant cell, but the promoter is operably linked to a nucleic acid to which it is not linked in nature. A recombinant gene can be introduced in the plant or plant cell via transformation, such that both the promoter and the operably linked nucleotide are at a position in the genome in which they do not occur naturally. Alternatively, the promoter according to the invention can be integrated in a targeted manner in the genome of the plant or plant cell upstream of an endogenous nucleic acid encoding an expression product of interest, i.e. to modulate the expression pattern of an endogenous gene. The promoter that is integrated in a targeted manner upstream of an endogenous nucleic acid can be integrated in cells of a plant species from which it is originally derived, or in cells of a heterologous plant species. Alternatively, a heterologous nucleic acid can be integrated in a targeted manner in the genome of the plant or plant cell downstream of the promoter according to the invention, such that said heterologous nucleic acid is expressed root-preferentially and is stress-inducible. Said heterologous nucleic acid is a nucleic acid which is heterologous with respect to the promoter, i.e. the combination of the promoter with said heterologous nucleic acid is not normally found in nature. Said heterologous nucleic acid may be a nucleic acid which is heterologous to said plant species in which it is inserted, but it may also naturally occur in said plant species at a different location in the plant genome. Said promoter or said heterologous nucleic acid can be integrated in a targeted manner in the plant genome via targeted sequence insertion, using, for example, the methods as described in WO2005/049842.

“Plants” encompasses “monocotyledonous plants” and “dicotyledonous plants”.

“Monocotyledonous plants”, also known as “monocot plants” or “monocots” are well known in the art and are plants of which the seed typically has one cotyledon. Examples of monocotyledons plants are grasses, such as meadow grass (blue grass, Poa), forage grass such as festuca, lolium, temperate grass, such as Agrostis, and cereals, e.g., wheat, oats, rye, barley, rice, sorghum, and maize (corn).

“Dicotyledonous plants”, also known as “dicot plants” or “dicots” are well known in the art and are plants of which the seed typically has two cotyledons. Examples of families of dicotyledonous plants are Brassicaceae, Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae.

“Malvaceae” as used herein refers to plants belonging to the family of Malvaceae plants, also called mallows family. Examples of Malvaceae are, but are not limited to, Gossypium species, such as Gossypium hirsutum, Gossypium barbadense, Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium herbaceum or progeny from crosses of such species with other species or crosses between such species.

“Cotton” or “cotton plant” as used herein can be any variety useful for growing cotton. The most commonly used cotton varieties are Gossypium barbadense, G. hirsutum, G. arboreum and G. herbaceum. Further varieties include G. africanum and G. raimondii. Also included are progeny from crosses of any of the above species with other species or crosses between such species.

The following is a non-limiting list of cotton genotypes which can be used for transformation: Coker 312, Coker310, Coker 5Acala SJ-5, GSC25110, Siokra 1-3, T25, GSA75, Acala SJ2, Acala SJ4, Acala SJ5, Acala SJ-C1, Acala B1644, Acala B1654-26, Acala B1654-43, Acala B3991, Acala GC356, Acala GC510, Acala GAM1, Acala C1, Acala Royale, Acala Maxxa, Acala Prema, Acala B638, Acala B1810, Acala B2724, Acala B4894, Acala B5002, Acala 1517-88, Acala 1517-91, Acala 1517-95, non Acala “picker” Siokra, “stripper” variety FC2017, Coker 315, STONEVILLE 506, STONEVILLE 825, STONEVILLE 324, STONEVILLE 453, STONEVILLE 474, STONEVILLE KC 311, STONEVILLE LA 887, STONEVILLE 4145, STONEVILLE 4288, STONEVILLE 4498, STONEVILLE 4554, STONEVILLE 4747, STONEVILLE 4946, STONEVILLE 5032, STONEVILLE 5115, STONEVILLE 5289, STONEVILLE 5445, STONEVILLE 5458, STONEVILLE 6182, STONEVILLE 6448, Daytona, Cobalt, DP20, DP20B, DP NUCOTN 33B, DP NUCOTN 35B, DP41, DP50, DP51, DP61, DP90, DP77, DP161, DP340, DP357, DP358, DP360, DP744, DP0912, DP0920, DP0924, DP0935, DP0949, DP0920, DP1028, DP1034, DP1044, DP1050, DP1133, DP1137, DP1212, DP1219, DP1252, DP1311, DP1321, DP1359, DP1410, DP1441, DP1454, DP5409, DP5415, DP5461, DP5690, DP5816, MON/DP 09R303, MON/DP 09R549, MON/DP 09R550, MON/DP 09R555, MON/DP 09R573, MON/DP 09R605, MON/DP 09R615, MON/DP 09R619, MON/DP 09R621, MON/DP 09R623, MON/DP 09R627, MON/DP 09R643, MON/DP 09R796, MON/DP 09R999, MON/DP 10R013, MON/DP 10R020, MON/DP 10R030, MON/DP 10R051, MON/DP 10R052, MON/DP 11R112, MON/DP 11R124, MON/DP 11R130, MON/DP 11R136, MON/DP 11R154, MON/DP 11R158, MON/DP 11R159, MON/DP 12R224, MON/DP 12R242, MON/DP 12R244, MON/DP 12R249, MON/DP 12R251, 12R254, MON/DP 13R310, MON/DP 13R348, MON/DP 13R352, MON/DP 14R1455, MON/DP 14R1456, DP Suregrow, Suregrow 125, Suregrow 248, Suregrow 404, Suregrow 501, Surcgrow 1001, DES119, McN235, HBX87, HBX191, HBX107, FC 3027, CHEMBRED A1, CHEMBRED A2, CHEMBRED A3, CHEMBRED A4, CHEMBRED B1, CHEMBRED B2, CHEMBRED B3, CHEMBRED C1, CHEMBRED C2, CHEMBRED C3, CHEMBRED C4, CHEMBRED CB407, PAYMASTER 145, HS26, HS46, Hyperformer 44, Hyperformer HS46, SICALA, PIMA S6 ORO BLANCO PIMA, PIMA S7, HA01, HA02, HA03, HA04, HA05, HA195, HA211, HA195, HA222, White PIMA, PHY72, PHY222, PHY333, PHY339, PHY367, PHY375, PHY417, PHY427, PHY495, PHY499, PHY565, PHY575, PHY725, PHY755, PHY800, PHY802, PHY804, PHY805, PHY811, PHY830, FM5013, FM5015, FM5017, FM989, FM832, FM966, FM958, FM989, FM958, FM832, FM991, FM819, FM800, FM960, FM966, FM981, FM1320, FM1740, FM1773, FM1830, FM1845, FM1880, FM1900, FM1944, FM2007, FM2011, FM2322, FM2324, FM2334, FM2484, FM2989, FM5035, FM5044, FM5045, FM5013, FM5015, FM5017, FM5024, FM8270, FM9058, FM9160, FM9170, FM9180, FM9250 and plants with genotypes derived thereof.

“Fabaceae” as used herein refers to the plant commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family plants. Examples of Fabaceac arc, but arc not limited to, Glycine max (soybean), Phaseolus (beans), Pisum sativum (pea), Cicer arietinum (chickpeas), Medicago sativa (alfalfa), Arachis hypogaca (peanut), Lathyrus odoratus (sweet pea), Ceratonia siliqua (carob), and Glycyrrhiza glabra (liquorice).

“Plant parts” as used herein are parts of the plant, which can be cells, tissues or organs, such as seeds, severed parts such as roots, leaves, flowers, pollen, fibers etc.

The plants according to the invention may additionally contain an endogenous or a transgene, which confers herbicide resistance, such as the bar or pat gene, which confer resistance to glufosinate ammonium (Liberty®, Basta® or Ignite®) [EP 0 242 236 and EP 0 242 246 incorporated by reference]; or any modified EPSPS gene, such as the 2mEPSPS gene from maize [EPO 508 909 and EP 0 507 698 incorporated by reference], or glyphosate acetyltransferase, or glyphosate oxidoreductase, which confer resistance to glyphosate (RoundupReady®), or bromoxynitril nitrilase to confer bromoxynitril tolerance, or any modified AHAS gene, which confers tolerance to sulfonylureas, imidazolinones, sulfonylaminocarbonyltriazolinones, triazolopyrimidines or pyrimidyl(oxy/thio)benzoates, such as oilseed rape imidazolinone-tolerant mutants PM1 and PM2, currently marketed as Clearfield® canola. Further, the plants according to the invention may additionally contain an endogenous or a transgene which confers increased oil content or improved oil composition, such as a 12:0 ACP thioesteraseincrease to obtain high laureate, which confers pollination control, such as such as barnase under control of an anther-specific promoter to obtain male sterility, or barstar under control of an anther-specific promoter to confer restoration of male sterility, or such as the Ogura cytoplasmic male sterility and nuclear restorer of fertility.

The plants or seeds of the plants according to the invention may be further treated with a chemical compound, such as a chemical compound selected from the following lists: Herbicides: Diuron, Fluometuron, MSMA, Oxyfluorfen, Prometryn, Trifluralin, Carfentrazone, Clethodim, Fluazifop-butyl, Glyphosate, Norflurazon, Pendimethalin, Pyrithiobac-sodium, Trifloxysulfuron, Tepraloxydim, Glufosinate, Flumioxazin, Thidiazuron; cotton insecticides such as Acephate, Aldicarb, Chlorpyrifos, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Abamectin, Acetamiprid, Emamectin Benzoate, Imidacloprid, Indoxacarb, Lambda-Cyhalothrin, Spinosad, Thiodicarb, Gamma-Cyhalothrin, Spiromesifen, Pyridalyl, Flonicamid, Flubendiamide, Triflumuron, Rynaxypyr, Beta-Cyfluthrin, Spirotetramat, Clothianidin, Thiamethoxam, Thiacloprid, Dinctofuran, Flubendiamide, Cyazypyr, Spinosad, Sp inotoram, gamma Cyhalothrin, 4-[[(6-Chlorpyridin-3-yemethyl] (2,2-difluorethyl)amino]furan-2(5H)-on, Thiodicarb, Avermcctin, Flonicamid, Pyridalyl, Spiromesifen, Sulfoxaflor; and cotton fungicides such as Azoxystrobin, Bixafen, Boscalid, Carbendazim, Chlorothalonil, Copper, Cyproconazole, Difenoconazole, Dimoxystrobin, Epoxiconazole, Fenamidone, Fluazinam, Fluopyram, Fluoxastrobin, Fluxapyroxad, Iprodione, Isopyrazam, Isotianil, Mancozeb, Maneb, Metominostrobin, Penthiopyrad, Picoxystrobin, Propineb, Prothioconazole, Pyraclostrobin, Quintozene, Tebuconazole, Tetraconazole, Thiophanate-methyl, Trifloxystrobin, Clopyralid, Diclofop, Ethametsulfuron, Fluazifop, Metazachlor, Quinmerac, Quizalofop. Fungicides/PGRs: Azoxystrobin, N-[9-(dichloromethylene)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,4-methanonaphthalen-5-yl]-3-(difluoromethyl)-1-methyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxamide (B enzovindiflupyr, B enzodiflupyr), Bixafen, B oscalid, Carbendazim, Carboxin, Chlormequat-chloride, Coniothryrium minitans, Cyproconazole, Cyprodinil, Difenoconazole, Dimethomorph, Dimoxystrobin, Epoxiconazole, Famoxadone, Fluazinam, Fludioxonil, Fluopicolide, Fluopyram, Fluoxastrobin, Fluquinconazole, Flusilazole, Fluthianil, Flutriafol, Fluxapyroxad, Iprodione, Isopyrazam, Mefenoxam, Mepiquat-chloride, Metalaxyl, Metconazole, Metominostrobin, Paclobutrazole, Penflufen, Penthiopyrad, Picoxystrobin, Prochloraz, Prothioconazole, Pyraclostrobin, Sedaxane, Tebuconazole, Tetraconazole, Thiophanate-methyl, Thiram, Triadimenol, Trifloxystrobin, Bacillus firmus, Bacillus firmus strain 1-1582, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus subtilis strain GB03, Bacillus subtilis strain QST 713, Bacillus pumulis, Bacillus. pumulis strain GB34. Insecticides: Acetamiprid, Aldicarb, Azadirachtin, Carbofuran, Chlorantraniliprole (Rynaxypyr), Clothianidin, Cyantraniliprole (Cyazypyr), (beta-)Cyfluthrin, gamma-Cyhalothrin, lambda-Cyhalothrin, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Dimethoate, Dinetofuran, Ethiprole, Flonicamid, Flubendiamide, Fluensulfone, Fluopyram, Flupyradifurone, tau-Fluvalinate, Imicyafos, Imidacloprid, Metaflumizone, Methiocarb, Pymetrozine, Pyrifluquinazon, Spinetoram, Spinosad, Spirotetramate, Sulfoxaflor, Thiacloprid, Thiamethoxam, 1-(3-chloropyridin-2-yl)-N-[4-cyano-2-methyl-6-(methylcarbamoyephenyl]-3-{[5-(trifluoromethyl)-2H-tetrazol-2-yl] methyl}-1H-pyrazole-5-carb oxamide, 1-(3-chloropyridin-2-yl)-N-[4-cyano-2-methyl-6-(methylcarbamoyl)phenyl]-3-{[5-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-tetrazol-1-yl]methyl}-1H-pyrazole-5-carboxamide, 1-{2-fluoro-4-methyl-5-[(2,2,2-trifluorethyl)sulfinyl] phenyl}-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5-amine, (1E)-N-[(6-chloropyridin-3-yl)methyl]-N′-cyano-N-(2,2-difluoroethyeethanimidamide, Bacillus firmus, Bacillus firmus strain 1-1582, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus subtilis strain GB03, Bacillus subtilis strain QST 713, Metarhizium anisopliae F52.

Whenever reference to a “plant” or “plants” according to the invention is made, it is understood that also plant parts (cells, tissues or organs, seed pods, seeds, severed parts such as roots, leaves, flowers, pollen, etc.), progeny of the plants which retain the distinguishing characteristics of the parents, such as seed obtained by selfing or crossing, e.g. hybrid seed (obtained by crossing two inbred parental lines), hybrid plants and plant parts derived there from are encompassed herein, unless otherwise indicated.

In some embodiments, the plant cells of the invention as well as plant cells generated according to the methods of the invention, may be non-propagating cells.

The obtained plants according to the invention can be used in a conventional breeding scheme to produce more plants with the same characteristics or to introduce the same characteristic in other varieties of the same or related plant species, or in hybrid plants. The obtained plants can further be used for creating propagating material. Plants according to the invention can further be used to produce gametes, seeds (including crushed seeds and seed cakes), seed oil, fibers, yarn, embryos, either zygotic or somatic, progeny or hybrids of plants obtained by methods of the invention. Seeds obtained from the plants according to the invention are also encompassed by the invention.

“Creating propagating material”, as used herein, relates to any means know in the art to produce further plants, plant parts or seeds and includes inter alia vegetative reproduction methods (e.g. air or ground layering, division, (bud) grafting, micropropagation, stolons or runners, storage organs such as bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes, striking or cutting, twin-scaling), sexual reproduction (crossing with another plant) and asexual reproduction (e.g. apomixis, somatic hybridization).

Methods and Uses

Yet other embodiments provide a method of producing a transgenic plant comprising the steps of (a) introducing or providing any of the recombinant genes according to the invention to a plant cell to create transgenic cells; and (b) regenerating transgenic plants from said transgenic cell.

“Introducing” in connection with the present application relates to the placing of genetic information in a plant cell or plant by artificial means. This can be effected by any method known in the art for introducing RNA or DNA into plant cells, protoplasts, calli, roots, tubers, seeds, stems, leaves, seedlings, embryos, pollen and microspores, other plant tissues, or whole plants. “Introducing” also comprises stably integrating into the plant's genome. Introducing the recombinant gene can be performed by transformation or by crossing with a plant obtained by transformation or its descendant (also referred to as “introgression”).

The term “providing” may refer to introduction of an exogenous DNA molecule to a plant cell by transformation, optionally followed by regeneration of a plant from the transformed plant cell. The term may also refer to introduction of the recombinant DNA molecule by crossing of a transgenic plant comprising the recombinant DNA molecule with another plant and selecting progeny plants which have inherited the recombinant DNA molecule or transgene. Yet another alternative meaning of providing refers to introduction of the recombinant DNA molecule by techniques such as protoplast fusion, optionally followed by regeneration of a plant from the fused protoplasts.

The recombinant gene may be introduced into a plant cell by methods well-known in the art.

The term “transformation” herein refers to the introduction (or transfer) of nucleic acid into a recipient host such as a plant or any plant parts or tissues including plant cells, protoplasts, calli, roots, tubers, seeds, stems, leaves, fibers, seedlings, embryos and pollen. Plants containing the transformed nucleic acid sequence are referred to as “transgenic plants”. Transformed, transgenic and recombinant refer to a host organism such as a plant into which a heterologous nucleic acid molecule (e.g. an expression cassette or a recombinant vector) has been introduced. The nucleic acid can be stably integrated into the genome of the plant.

As used herein, the phrase “transgenic plant” refers to a plant having a nucleic acid stably integrated into a genome of the plant, for example, the nuclear or plastid genomes. In other words, plants containing transformed nucleic acid sequence are referred to as “transgenic plants” and includes plants directly obtained from transformation and their descendants (Tx generations). Transgenic and recombinant refer to a host organism such as a plant into which a heterologous nucleic acid molecule (e.g. the promoter, the recombinant gene or the vector as described herein) has been introduced. The nucleic acid can be stably integrated into the genome of the plant.

It will be clear that the methods of transformation used arc of minor relevance to the current invention. Transformation of plants is now a routine technique. Advantageously, any of several transformation methods may be used to introduce the nucleic acid/gene of interest into a suitable ancestor cell. Transformation methods include the use of liposomes, electroporation, chemicals that increase free DNA uptake, injection of the DNA directly into the plant, particle gun bombardment, transformation using viruses or pollen and microprojection. Methods may be selected from the calcium/polyethylene glycol method for protoplasts (Krens et al. (1982) Nature 296: 72-74; Negrutiu et al. (1987) Plant. Mol. Biol. 8: 363-373); electroporation of protoplasts (Shillito et al. (1985) Bio/Technol. 3: 1099-1102); microinjection into plant material (Crossway et al. (1986) Mol. Gen. Genet. 202: 179-185); DNA or RNA-coated particle bombardment (Klein et al. (1987) Nature 327: 70) infection with (non-integrative) viruses and the like.

Methods to transform cotton plants are also well known in the art. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cotton has been described e.g. in US patent 5.004.863 or in US patent 6.483.013 and cotton transformation by particle bombardment is reported e.g. in WO 92/15675. Other suitable cotton transformation methods are disclosed e.g. in WO 00071733 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,135, which disclosures are incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth. Methods to transform soybean arc described e.g. in WO2014/150449.

Different transformation systems could be established for various cereals: the electroporation of tissue, the transformation of protoplasts and the DNA transfer by particle bombardment in regenerable tissue and cells (for an overview see Jane, Euphytica 85 (1995), 35-44). The transformation of wheat has been described several times in literature (for an overview see Maheshwari, Critical Reviews in Plant Science 14 (2) (1995), 149-178, Nehra et al., Plant J. 5 (1994), 285-297). Yuji Ishida et al. 2015, Methods in Molecular Biology, 1223: 189-198 describes a recent method to obtain transgenic wheat plants.

The recombinant DNA molecules according to the invention may be introduced into plants in a stable manner or in a transient manner using methods well known in the art. The recombinant genes may be introduced into plants, or may be generated inside the plant cell as described e.g. in EP 1339859.

Further provided are methods of effecting root-preferential, stress-inducible and stress-induced root-preferential expression of a nucleic acid comprising introducing a recombinant gene according to the invention that comprise a promoter having root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity into the genome of a plant, or providing the plant according to the invention. Also provided is a method for altering biotic or abiotic stress tolerance, root architecture, nutrient use efficiency, nematode resistance or yield of a plant, comprising introducing the recombinant gene according to the invention into the genome of a plant, or providing the plant according to the invention. In another embodiment, said plant is a cotton, a soybean or a wheat plant.

Also provided is the use of the isolated nucleic acid according to the invention to regulate expression of an operably linked nucleic acid in a plant, and the use of the isolated nucleic acid according to the invention, or the recombinant gene comprising the nucleic acid having root-preferential, stress-inducible and stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity to alter biotic or abiotic stress tolerance, root architecture, nutrient use efficiency, or yield in a plant. In a further embodiment, said plant is a cotton, a soybean or a wheat plant. Also provided is the use of the isolated nucleic acid according to the invention to identify other nucleic acids comprising root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity.

Yet another embodiment provides a method of producing food, feed, or an industrial product comprising (a) obtaining the plant or a part thereof, according to the invention; and (b) preparing the food, feed or industrial product from the plant or part thereof. In another embodiment, said food or feed is oil, meal, ground or crushed seeds, soybean flakes, grain, starch, flour or protein, or said industrial product is biofuel, fiber, industrial chemicals, a pharmaceutical or a nutraceutical. Such food, feed or industrial products contain the root-preferential, stress-inducible and stress-induced root-preferential promoter described herein.

In another embodiment, the invention provides a method to increase the yield, such as fiber yield and seed yield, of a plant, such as a cotton, a soybean plant and a wheat plant compared to a control plant under stress condition comprising (a) providing to cells of said plant a recombinant gene comprising (i) a heterologous plant expressible promoter, (ii) a nucleic acid sequence encoding an Annexin protein and (iii) optionally a transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence, preferably a transcription termination and polyadenylation region functional in plants, and (b) regenerating the plant.

In further embodiments, the stress is a drought stress, occurring during the plant reproductive stage, on field-grown plants.

The present invention provides a method to increase lint yield and a method to increase seed yield. In a further embodiment the increase yield compared to a control plant is at least 5%.

“Control plant” as used herein refers to a plant genetically resembling the tested plant but not carrying the recombinant gene, such as wild type plants or null segregant plants.

Furthermore, the disclosed method is expected to yield similar results in other plant species. Particularly, it is expected to increase yield in corn under drought stress under field conditions. It may also lead to a yield increase in Brassica napus under stress condition in the field.

According to the present invention, the method provided more consistently increased yield when said plant expressible promoter is a root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter, preferentially the Pbtg-26GhD10 promoter, compared to when said plant expressible promoter is a constitutive promoter, preferentially the CaMV35S promoter.

The phrase “more consistently increase yield” as used in this application means that a larger proportion of the obtained plants display the increased yield when using the root-preferential, stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter compared to the proportion of plants displaying an increased yield when using a constitutive promoter. For example the proportion may be increased by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90% or even 100%.

Furthermore, the disclosed method is expected to yield similar results in other plant species. Particularly, it is expected to more consistently increase yield in corn under drought stress under field conditions. It may also lead to a more consistent yield increase in Brassica napus under stress condition in the field.

The transformed plant cells and plants obtained by the methods described herein may be further used in breeding procedures well known in the art, such as crossing, selfing, and backcrossing. Breeding programs may involve crossing to generate an F1 (first filial) generation, followed by several generations of selfing (generating F2, F3, etc.). The breeding program may also involve backcrossing (BC) steps, whereby the offspring is backcrossed to one of the parental lines, termed the recurrent parent.

Accordingly, also disclosed herein is a method for producing plants comprising the recombinant gene disclosed herein comprising the step of crossing the plant disclosed herein with another plant or with itself and selecting for offspring comprising said recombinant gene.

The transformed plant cells and plants obtained by the methods disclosed herein may also be further used in subsequent transformation procedures, e. g. to introduce a further recombinant gene.

Stress and Yield Definitions

Yield as used herein can comprise yield of the plant or plant part which is harvested, such as lint, biomass, or seed, including seed oil content, seed weight, seed number. Increased yield can be increased yield per plant, and increased yield per surface unit of cultivated land, such as yield per hectare. Yield can be increased by modulating, for example, water uptake in the roots, or indirectly by increasing the tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress conditions.

“Stress” refers to non-optimal environmental conditions such as biotic stress and abiotic stress.

Abiotic stress tolerance as used herein can comprise resistance to environmental stress factors such as drought, flood, extreme (high or low) temperatures, soil salinity or heavy metals, hypoxia, anoxia, osmotic stress, oxidative stress, low nutrient levels such as nitrogen or phosphorus.

Biotic stress tolerance as used herein can comprise pest resistance, such as resistance or fungal, bacterial, bacterial or viral pathogens or nematodes or insects.

Drought as used in the present application relates to the shortage or absence of water available to a plant for a specified time. Such shortage or absence of water may last only a few days such as at least or up to 2, at least or up to 3, at least or up to 4, at least or up to 5, at least or up to 6, at least or up to 7, at least or up to 8, at least or up to 9, at least or up to 10, at least or up to 15 or at least or up to 20 days. It may as well be for a longer period such as at least or up to 3 weeks, at least or up to 4 weeks, at least or up to 5 weeks, at least or up to 6 weeks, at least or up to 2 months, at least or up to 3 months, at least or up to 4 months, at least or up to 5 months or at least or up to 6 months. In some areas of the world, drought may even last longer than 6 month, such as 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18 or 24 months.

Drought stress may be applied to the plant simply by depriving it of or reducing its water supply, either by placing them in a naturally drought exposed region or by reducing water supply in the field. For example, the water supply may be reduced by at least 10%, at least 20%, at least 30%, at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90% or even 100% for a desired time falling within those described above in connection with drought stress.

General Definitions

“Isolated nucleic acid”, used interchangeably with “isolated DNA” as used herein refers to a nucleic acid not occurring in its natural genomic context, irrespective of its length and sequence. Isolated DNA can, for example, refer to DNA which is physically separated from the genomic context, such as a fragment of genomic DNA. Isolated DNA can also be an artificially produced DNA, such as a chemically synthesized DNA, or such as DNA produced via amplification reactions, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) well-known in the art. Isolated DNA can further refer to DNA present in a context of DNA in which it does not occur naturally. For example, isolated DNA can refer to a piece of DNA present in a plasmid. Further, the isolated DNA can refer to a piece of DNA present in another chromosomal context than the context in which it occurs naturally, such as for example at another position in the genome than the natural position, in the genome of another species than the species in which it occurs naturally, or in an artificial chromosome.

Hybridization occurs when the two nucleic acid molecules anneal to one another under appropriate conditions. Nucleic acid hybridization is a technique well known to those of skill in the art of DNA manipulation. The hybridization property of a given pair of nucleic acids is an indication of their similarity or identity. Another indication that two nucleic acid sequences are substantially identical is that the two molecules hybridize to each other under stringent conditions. The phrase “hybridizing specifically to” refers to the binding, duplexing, or hybridizing of a molecule only to a particular nucleotide sequence under stringent conditions when that sequence is present in a complex mixture (e.g., total cellular) DNA or RNA. “Bind(s) substantially” refers to complementary hybridization between a probe nucleic acid and a target nucleic acid and embraces minor mismatches that can be accommodated by reducing the stringency of the hybridization media to achieve the desired detection of the target nucleic acid sequence. “Stringent hybridization conditions” and “stringent hybridization wash conditions” in the context of nucleic acid hybridization experiments such as Southern and Northern hybridization are sequence dependent, and are different under different environmental parameters. An example of highly stringent wash conditions is 0.15 M NaCl at 72° C. for about 15 minutes. An example of stringent wash conditions is a 0.2×SSC wash at 65° C. for 15 minutes. Stringent conditions may also be achieved with the addition of destabilizing agents such as formamide. In general, a signal to noise ratio of 2 X (or higher) than that observed for an unrelated probe in the particular hybridization assay indicates detection of a specific hybridization. Nucleic acids that do not hybridize to each other under stringent conditions are still substantially identical if the proteins that they encode are substantially identical. This occurs, e.g., when a copy of a nucleic acid is created using the maximum codon degeneracy permitted by the genetic code.

The phrases “DNA”, “DNA sequence,” “nucleic acid sequence,” “nucleic acid molecule” “nucleotide sequence” and “nucleic acid” refer to a physical structure comprising an orderly arrangement of nucleotides. The DNA sequence or nucleotide sequence may be contained within a larger nucleotide molecule, vector, or the like. In addition, the orderly arrangement of nucleic acids in these sequences may be depicted in the form of a sequence listing, figure, table, electronic medium, or the like.

As used herein “comprising” is to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, e.g., a nucleic acid or protein comprising a sequence of nucleotides or amino acids, may comprise more nucleotides or amino acids than the actually cited ones, i.e., be embedded in a larger nucleic acid or protein. A recombinant gene comprising a nucleic acid which is functionally or structurally defined, may comprise additional DNA regions etc. However, in context with the present disclosure, the term “comprising” also includes “consisting of”.

The sequence listing contained in the file named “BCS15-2008WO_ST25.txt”, which is 118 kilobytes (size as measured in Microsoft Windows®), contains 31 sequences SEQ ID NO: 1 through SEQ ID NO: 31 is filed herewith by electronic submission and is incorporated by reference herein.

In the description and examples, reference is made to the following sequences:

SEQUENCE LISTING

SEQ ID NO: 1 nucleotide sequence of the T-DNA Pbtg-26Bn::GUS.

SEQ ID NO: 2 nucleotide sequence of the KVA07-32 primer.

SEQ ID NO: 3 nucleotide sequence of the KVA07-34 primer.

SEQ ID NO: 4 nucleotide sequence of the A-genome variant of btg-26Gh.

SEQ ID NO: 5 nucleotide sequence of the D-genome variant of btg-26Gh.

SEQ ID NO: 6 nucleotide sequence of the ca. 1 kb long promoter of the A-genome variant of Pbtg-26Gh.

SEQ ID NO: 7 nucleotide sequence of the ca. 1 kb long promoter of the D-genome variant of Pbtg-26Gh.

SEQ ID NO: 8 nucleotide sequence of the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhA0.6::GUS.

SEQ TD NO: 9 nucleotide sequence of the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhA10::GUS.

SEQ ID NO: 10 nucleotide sequence of the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD0.6::GUS.

SEQ ID NO: 11 nucleotide sequence of the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::GUS.

SEQ ID NO: 12: nucleotide sequence of AnnBj1 SEQ ID NO: 13: amino acid sequence of AnnBj1 SEQ ID NO: 14: nucleotide sequence of GhAnn1.

SEQ ID NO: 15: amino acid sequence of GhAnn1.

SEQ ID NO: 16: nucleotide sequence of AtAnn1.

SEQ ID NO: 17: amino acid sequence of AtAnn1.

SEQ ID NO: 18: nucleotide sequence of the T-DNA P35S::AnnBj1

SEQ ID NO: 19: nucleotide sequence of the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::AnnBj1

SEQ ID NO: 20: qRT-PCR forward primer AnnBj1.

SEQ ID NO: 21: qRT-PCR reverse primer AnnBj1

SEQ ID NO: 22: qRT-PCR forward primer PP2A.

SEQ ID NO: 23: qRT-PCR reverse primer PP2A.

SEQ ID NO: 24: nucleotide sequence of Axmi196.

SEQ TD NO: 25: amino acid sequence of Axmi196.

SEQ ID NO: 26: nucleotide sequence of Axmi031.

SEQ ID NO: 27: amino acid sequence of Axmi031.

SEQ ID NO: 28: nucleotide sequence of Axmi277.

SEQ ID NO: 29: amino acid sequence of Axmi277.

SEQ ID NO: 30: nucleotide sequence of Axn-2.

SEQ ID NO: 31: amino acid sequence of Axn-2.

EXAMPLES Example 1—Generation of Expression Constructs with the Pbtg-26Bn Promoter of Brassica Napus Operably Linked to the GUS Reporter Gene (Pbtg-26Bn::GUS)

The promoter sequence of the Brassica napus htg-26 promoter (EMBL accession number 577096, 5′ to 3′ position 4474 to 4148 of SEQ ID NO:1), the GUS gene (β-glucuronidase) with intron (5′ to 3′ position 4101 to 2101 of SEQ ID NO: 1) and a fragment of the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of the CaMV 35S gene (5′ to 3′ position 2031 to 1827 of SEQ ID NO: 1) were assembled in a vector which contains the bar selectable marker cassette (position 1720 to 56 of SEQ ID NO: 1) to result in the T-DNA Pbtg-26Bn::GUS (SEQ ID NO: 1).

Example 2—Generation of Transgenic Plants Comprising Pbtg-26Bn::GUS

In a next step the recombinant vector comprising the expression cassette of example 1, i. e. Pbtg-26Bn::GUS, was used to stably transform Gossypium hirsutum Coker 312 using the embryogenic callus transformation protocol.

Example 3—Expression Pattern of Pbtg-26Bn::GUS in Gossypium hirsutum

β-glucuronidase activity of plants transformed with btg-26Bn::GUS was monitored in planta with the chromogenic substrate X-Gluc (5-bromo-4-Chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-glucuronic acid) during corresponding activity assays (Jefferson R A et al (1987) EMBO J. 20; 6 (13):3901-7). For determination of promoter activity plant tissue was dissected, embedded, stained and analyzed as described (e.g., Pien S. et al (2001) PNAS 98(20):11812-7). Thus, the activity of beta-glucuronidase in the transformed plants was witnessed by the presence of the blue color due to the enzymatic metabolism of the substrate X-Gluc.

After growing the progeny of independent TO plants under optimal growing conditions plants were examined for GUS expression. From these plants leaf samples from the first pair of leaves, root samples and stems were taken and tested for GUS reporter gene expression (e.g., Pien S. et al (2001) PNAS 98(20):11812-7).

Surprisingly, the Brassica napus promoter was unable to confer root-preferential expression in Gossypium hirsutum (see table 1 for result) although it was demonstrated in the prior art that this promoter retained its root preferential activity even in the more distant species barley and therefore suggested a high degree of conservation throughout dicotyledons and monocotyledons.

Example 4—Isolation of the Gossypium hirsutum a and D-Subgenome Specific Alleles Encoding the Orthologous Genes of Btg-26 from Brassica napus

The coding sequences of the btg-26 genes from Brassica napus (EMBL accession number 577096), rice (EMBL accession number AF32358) and Arabidopsis thaliana (At1g54100) were used to blast against a Gossypium hirsutum genomic sequence database. Based on the obtained result, a 656 bp probe was amplified using the primer KVA07-32 (SEQ ID NO:2) and KVA07-34 (SEQ ID NO:3) to screen a BAC library containing genomic DNA clones of Gossypium hirsutum FiberMax variety. The nucleotide sequence of genomic fragments for each of the allelic variants were identified and are represented in SEQ ID NO:4 (A genome) and SEQ ID NO:5 (D genome).

For the A-genome variant (SEQ ID NO:4), a TATA box could be identified at positions 1986 to 1999; a transcription initiation site at position 1219. The 5′ untranslated leader extends from nucleotide 1219 to 1483; the translation initiation codon is located at positions 1484 to 1486.

For the D-genome variant (SEQ ID NO:5), a TATA box could be identified at positions 2789 to 2803; a transcription initiation site at position 2822. The 5′ untranslated leader extends from nucleotide 2822 to 3089; the translation initiation codon is located at positions 3090 to 3092.

FIG. 1 shows an alignment of the nucleotide sequence of the first ca. 1 kb of the A and D promoters. Strikingly the two promoter fragments share about 78% sequence identity while the first 600 bp are nearly identical, sharing about 94% sequence identity.

Example 5—Generation of Expression Constructs with the Pbtg-26Gh Promoters of Gossypium hirsutum Operably Linked to the GUS Reporter Gene (Pbtg-26GhA0.6::GUS, Pbtg-26GhA10::GUS, Pbtg-26GhD0.6::GUS, Pbtg-26GhD10::GUS)

The promoter short sequence (ca. 600 bp) of the Gossypium hirsutum btg-26 promoter from the A subgenome (Pbtg-26GhA0.6, 5′ to 3′ position 4650 to 4086 of SEQ ID NO:8), the GUS gene with intron (5′ to 3′ position 4082 to 2082 of SEQ ID NO: 8) and a fragment of the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of the CaMV 35S gene (5′ to 3′ position 2012 to 1808 of SEQ ID NO: 8) were assembled in a vector which contains the bar selectable marker cassette (position 1720 to 56 of SEQ ID NO: 8) to result in the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhA0.6::GUS (SEQ ID NO: 8).

The promoter long sequence (ca. 1 kb) of the Gossypium hirsutum btg-26 promoter from the A subgenome (Pbtg-26GhA10, 5′ to 3′ position 5094 to 4086 of SEQ ID NO:9), the GUS gene with intron (5′ to 3′ position 4082 to 2082 of SEQ ID NO: 9) and a fragment of the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of the CaMV 35S gene (5′ to 3′ position 2012 to 1808 of SEQ ID NO: 9) were assembled in a vector which contains the bar selectable marker cassette (position 1720 to 56 of SEQ ID NO: 9) to result in the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhA10::GUS (SEQ ID NO: 9).

The promoter short sequence (ca. 600 bp) of the Gossypium hirsutum btg-26 promoter from the D subgenome (Pbtg-26GhD0.6, 5′ to 3′ position 4654 to 4083 of SEQ ID NO:10), the GUS gene with intron (5′ to 3′ position 4082 to 2082 of SEQ ID NO: 10) and a fragment of the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of the CaMV 35S gene (5′ to 3′ position 2012 to 1808 of SEQ ID NO: 10) were assembled in a vector which contains the bar selectable marker cassette (position 1720 to 56 of SEQ ID NO: 10) to result in the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD0.6::GUS (SEQ ID NO: 10).

The promoter long sequence (ca. 1 kb) of the Gossypium hirsutum btg-26 promoter from the D subgenoine (Pbtg-26GhD10, 5′ to 3′ position 5104 to 4083 of SEQ ID NO:11), the GUS gene with intron (5′ to 3′ position 4082 to 2082 of SEQ ID NO: 11) and a fragment of the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of the CaMV 35S gene (5′ to 3′ position 2012 to 1808 of SEQ ID NO: 11) were assembled in a vector which contains the bar selectable marker cassette (position 1720 to 56 of SEQ ID NO: 11) to result in the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::GUS (SEQ ID NO: 11).

Example 6—Generation of Transgenic Plants Comprising the Different Pbtg-26Gh::GUS Cassettes

In a next step the recombinant vector comprising the expression cassettes of example 5, i.e. Pbtg-26GhA0.6::GUS, Pbtg-26GhA10::GUS, Pbtg-26GhD0.6::GUS and Pbtg-26GhD10::GUS, were used to stably transform Gossypium hirsutum coker 312 using the embryogenic callus transformation protocol.

The recombinant vector comprising the expression cassette Pbtg-26GhD10::GUS is used to stably transform wheat using the method described in Yuji Ishida et al. 2015, Methods in Molecular Biology, 1223: 189-198.

The recombinant vector comprising the expression cassette Pbtg-26GhD10::GUS is used to stably transform soybean using the method described in the patent application WO2014/150449.

Example 7—Expression Pattern of the Different Pbtg-26Gh::GUS in Gossypium hirsutum

β-glucuronidase activity of plants transformed with Pbtg-26GhA0.6::GUS, Pbtg-26GhA10::GUS, Pbtg-26GhD0.6::GUS and Pbtg-26GhD10::GUS was monitored as described in example 3.

Table 1 shows the average expression profile of all events produced per construct in the selected tissues (roots, leaves and stems). Intensity of the staining was quantified on a scale from 0 to 5, 0 corresponding to the absence of staining.

It was unexpectedly observed that only the long version of the pbtg-26D promoter lead to a preferential expression of GUS in the roots. Indeed the short and long promoter fragments from the A subgenome as well as the short promoter fragment from the D subgenome drive similar expression levels in all tissues tested, with the short D promoter and long A promoter driving a slightly lower expression in the roots.

TABLE 1 Nb of events Expression level Promoter tested Root tissues Leaf tissues Stem tissues Pbtg-26GhA0.6 5 3.0 2.8 3.0 Pbtg-26GhA10 7 2.7 3.7 3.3 Pbtg-26GhD0.6 8 1.7 2.4 2.4 Pbtg-26GhD10 16 4.6 1.3 2.2 Pbtg-26Bn 8 3.7 3.4 3.6

It can further be concluded from these results that the shorter promoter fragment of D does not influence the root-preferential activity of the longer promoter fragment (SEQID NO: 7) and may for example be replaced by the sequence of the short A promoter in the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 without affecting its activity.

Example 8—Sequence Analysis of the Pbtg-26GhD10 Promoter

FIG. 1 shows the nucleotide sequence of the Pbtg-26 promoters from Gossypium hirsutum annotated with the predicted CIS elements relevant for stress-inducible expression as well as the position of the TATA box and the transcription initiation site.

Four ABA responsive-like motifs (ABRE-like) could be predicted from the btg-26 promoter of the D sub-genome but these motifs are not conserved in the promoter sequence from the A sub-genome. These motifs suggest that only the promoter sequence from the D sub-genome is capable to respond to stress.

Example 9—Stress Inducibility of the Cotton Endogenous BTG-26D Gene

Gossypium hirsutum plants from the Cocker variety were grown in a growth chamber and were watered until the 2-leaf developmental stage. Leaf samples were then collected in triplicates on the last day of watering (control samples) and after 7 days without watering (D7 samples).

RNA was extracted using the Sigma plant RNA extraction kit and analyzed by sequencing. Table 2 shows the expression values obtained for the BTG-26D endogenous gene in the different samples. BTG-26D is significantly induced by the drought stress and its expression level is ca. 1.9 times higher after 7 days of drought than in the control condition. As predicted the BTG26-D promoter therefore has stress-inducible activity as demonstrated with the application of drought stress. The functionality of the ABRE-like elements in the promoter is thus confirmed.

TABLE 2 Replicate 1 Replicate 2 Replicate 3 Average SD control 43.5 28.3 47.0 39.6 9.9 D7 95.7 72 57 74.9 19.5

Example 10—Assessment of the Promoter Activity of the Pbtg-26GhD10 Promoter in Soybean and Wheat

β-glucuronidase activity of soybean and wheat plants transformed with Pbtg-26GhD10::GUS is monitored as described in example 3.

Results indicate that the promoter Pbtg-26GhD10 has root-preferential promoter activity in soybean. They also indicate that the promoter has stress-inducible promoter activity in Soybean. Furthermore, the promoter has stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity in soybean.

Results indicate that the promoter Pbtg-26GhD10 has root-preferential promoter activity in wheat. They also indicate that the promoter has stress-inducible promoter activity in wheat. Furthermore, the promoter has stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity in wheat.

Example 11—Construction of a Recombinant Gene Encoding an Annexin for Root-Preferential and for Constitutive Expression in Cotton Cells

A DNA molecule having the nucleic acid sequence according to SEQ ID NO: 12 was synthesized by Entelechon GmbH.

Using standard recombinant DNA techniques, the constitutive promoter region CaMV35S according to the sequence from nucleotide position 89 to 506 of SEQ ID NO: 18, the 5′UTR sequence including the leader sequence of the chlorophyll a/b binding protein gene of Petunia hybrid according to the sequence from nucleotide position 511 to 568 of SEQ ID NO: 18, the DNA fragment coding for AnnBj laccording to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 12 or to the sequence from nucleotide position 577 to 1530 of SEQ ID NO: 18, and the 3′ untranslated sequence of the Arabidopsis thaliana histone H4 gene according to the sequence from nucleotide position 1542 to 2202 of SEQ ID NO: 18 were assembled in a vector which contains the 2mepsps selectable marker cassette (position 2252 to 6080 of SEQ ID NO: 18) to result in the T-DNA P35S::AnnBj1 (SEQ ID NO: 18).

Using standard recombinant DNA techniques, the root-preferential promoter region Pbtg-26GhD10 according to the sequence from nucleotide position 89 to 1107 of SEQ ID NO: 19, the DNA fragment coding for AnnBj1 according to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 12 or to the sequence from nucleotide position 1111 to 2064 of SEQ ID NO: 19, and the 3′ untranslated sequence of the Arabidopsis thaliana histone H4 gene according to the sequence from nucleotide position 2076 to 2736 of SEQ ID NO: 19 were assembled in a vector which contains the 2mepsps selectable marker cassette (position 2786 to 6614 of SEQ ID NO: 19) to result in the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::AnnBj1 (SEQ ID NO: 19).

Example 12—Generation of Transgenic Cotton Plants Expressing AnnBj1

The T-DNA vectors from the Example 11 were introduced into Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains containing a helper Ti-plasmid and used in cotton transformation essentially as described in WO00/71733. Homozygous plants and their null segregants were further analyzed as described in the following Examples.

Example 13—Seed and Lint Yield Assessment of Transgenic Cotton Plants Expressing AnnBj1 in Field Trial

Field trials were performed in the United States on 12 events from the transformation with the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::AnnBj1 and 15 events from the transformation with the T-DNA P35S::AnnBj1 using a split plot design with 3 blocks. The events were allocated to the whole-plot within a block and the zygosity (Homozygous and Null) were allocated to the sub-block within the whole-plot.

Deficient irrigation treatment was applied from squaring stage. Typical agronomic inputs for conventionally grown cotton for the area, following best local agronomic practices were applied.

The parameters scored were lint yield and seed cotton yield. The obtained data were analysed using linear mixed model and AsREML software (Gilmour et al. 1999). The fixed part of the model consists on the main effect of the event, main effect of the zygosity and their interaction. The random terms of the model were block, whole-plot and sub-block affects to adjust for field heterogeneity.

Under control condition, no seed yield nor lint yield was observed for the tested events. However, under drought stress, the expression of AnnBj1 lead to an increased seed and/or lint yield. The results for the drought condition are shown in Table 3.

Out of the 12 events tested for Pbtg-26GhD10::AnnBj1, 9 have an increased seed yield compared to their null segregant of at least 5%, meaning that the three quarters of the events produced display the positive effect of the transgene. In comparison, out of the 15 P35S::AnnBj1 events, only 8 have a yield increase of at least 5% compared to their null segregant, meaning that half of the events produced display the positive effect of the transgene. Expressing the AnnBj1 gene under control of the Pbtg-26GhD10 promoter as opposed to the constitutive promoter thus results in obtaining 50% more events with an at least 5% seed yield increase compare to their nulls.

Regarding the lint yield, 8 out of the 12 events produced with the transformation with the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::AnnBj1 have an increased yield of at least 5% compared to their nulls, i.e. three quarter of the events display the positive effect of the transgene. In contrast, only 7 of the 15 events tested from the transformation with the T-DNA 35S::AnnBj1 have an increased yield of at least 5% compared to their nulls, i.e. half of the events display the positive effect of the transgene. Expressing the AnnBj1 gene under control of the Pbtg-26GhD10 promoter as opposed to the constitutive promoter thus results in obtaining 50% more events with an at least 5% seed yield increase compare to their nulls.

In conclusion, constitutive expression of AnnBj1 in cotton results in both a seed yield and a lint yield increase of at least 5% compared to the respective null segregants. Stress-induced root-preferential expression of AnnBj1 in cotton results in both a seed yield and a lint yield increase of at least 5% compared to the respective null segregants. Furthermore, when using the root-preferential promoter Pbtg-26GhD10 in cotton, the effect of the AnnBj1 overexpression is more penetrant with more events displaying the improved yield compared to when using the constitutive promoter 35S under drought stress conditions in the field.

TABLE 3 % yield increase of homozygous over their respective null segregant - drought stress condition. % seed % lint Independent yield yield T-DNA Events increase increase Pbtg-26GhD10::AnnBj1 1 −5.69 −5.09 2 13.96 15.63 3 −15.75 −15.67 4 5.43 5.72 5 7.68 7.87 6 20.35 23.83 7 20.24 25.84 8 12.79 11.97 9 8.52 9.87 10 18.17 −0.65 11 13.51 15.52 12 −5.25 −3.92 P35S::AnnBj1 1 −4.18 −4.43 2 18.59 20.41 3 −74.25 −75.13 4 13.98 15.82 5 −1.65 −1.20 6 12.72 12.72 7 28.78 28.25 8 5.74 6.26 9 4.02 4.70 10 9.33 9.56 11 16.98 19.43 12 6.20 4.74 13 −3.48 −1.52 14 1.16 4.69 15 0.16 0.07

Example 14—Seed and Lint Yield Assessment of Selected Transgenic Cotton Plants from Example 13 in Field Trial

Field trials were performed again on 6 events from the transformation with the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::AnnBj1 and 4 events from the transformation with the T-DNA P35S::AnnBj1 Events were selected based on their performance in the previous field trial. The field trial was designed, run and the results analyzed as described in Example 13.

Under control condition, no significant yield penalty was observed for the tested events. However, under drought stress, the expression of AnnBj1 lead to an increased lint yield compared to the wild type Coker plants. The results for the drought condition arc shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 % lint yield increase of homozygous over the wild type Coker - drought stress condition. The result of the first year field trial are added as reference. % lint yield % lint yield increase to increase to Independent wild type, wild type, T-DNA Events year 1 year 2 Pbtg-26GhD10::AnnBj1 2 111% 114% 4 103% 113% 6 116% 121% 8 121% 123% 9 110% 118% 11 116% 118% P35S::AnnBj1 2 111% 115% 9 111% 116% 11 118% 118% 14 113% 115%

Example 15—Stress-Induced Root-Preferential Promoter Activity of the Pbtg-26GhD10 Promoter in Cotton

To further confirm the expression pattern conferred by the Pbtg-26GhD10 promoter, cotton seeds from 8 events containing the Pbtg-26GhD10::AnnBj1 transgene and wild type cotton seeds were surface sterilized, sown and grown in vitro either on control media or media containing 250 mM mannitol (i.e. stress media). Mannitol is well known in the art to mimick drought stress. Root and leaf tissues were collected at respectively 16 and 27 days after sowing from the plants grown on control media and stress media.

RNA from the sampled root and leaf tissues were extracted using the Spectrum plant total RNA kit from Sigma with protocol A. The gene PP2A was used as a reference gene. Q-RT PCR were performed and analysed using the method described in the manual of Applied Biosystems with the primers SEQ ID NO: 20 and SEQ ID NO: 21 for the AnnBj1 transcript and SEQ ID NO: 22 and SEQ ID NO: 23 for the PP2A transcript. Table 5 shows the obtained results.

TABLE 5 Control media Stress media Fold change Event 2-[deltaCt] 2-[deltaCt] stress over number value stdev value stdev control media Leaf 2 0.91 0.31 0.29 0.03 0.32 4 2.17 0.43 0.60 0.13 0.28 6 0.75 0.20 0.25 0.06 0.33 8 1.66 0.67 1.01 0.59 0.61 9 2.32 0.64 1.38 0.50 0.60 11 1.10 0.92 0.49 0.03 0.45 root 2 0.11 0.03 0.82 0.55 7.68 4 0.22 0.08 1.09 0.29 4.89 6 0.06 0.02 0.85 0.08 13.72 8 0.10 0.01 4.35 1.73 45.08 9 1.62 0.64 8.05 0.56 4.97 11 0.08 0.01 2.11 0.87 25.83

Although the expression level in the leaf was not increased by the stress treatment applied, the expression in the root is increased at least 4 fold in the stress condition compared to control condition. The Pbtg-26GhD10 promoter therefore has, under high stress, a stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity.

A similar experiment was performed with a lower concentration of mannitol (200 mM instead of 250 mM) on the same events. The events carrying two copies of the Pbtg-26GhD10::AnnBj1 transgene also confirmed the stress-induced root-preferential promoter activity of the Pbtg-26GhD10 promoter under milder stress condition.

Example 16—Construction of a Recombinant Gene Encoding Nematode Resistance Genes for Stress-Induced Root-Preferential Expression in Soybean Cells

Using standard recombinant DNA techniques, the stress-induced root-preferential promoter region Pbtg-26GhD10 as described above, the DNA fragment coding for Axmi196 according to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 24 are assembled in a vector which contains a selectable marker cassette to result in the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::Axmi196.

The stress-induced root-preferential promoter region Pbtg-26GhD10 as described above, the DNA fragment coding for Axmi031 according to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 26 are assembled in a vector which contains a selectable marker cassette to result in the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::Axmi031.

The stress-induced root-preferential promoter region Pbtg-26GhD10 as described above, the DNA fragment coding for Axmi277 according to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 28 are assembled in a vector which contains a selectable marker cassette to result in the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::Axmi277.

The stress-induced root-preferential promoter region Pbtg-26GhD10 as described above, the DNA fragment coding for Axn-2 according to the sequence SEQ ID NO: 30 are assembled in a vector which contains a selectable marker cassette to result in the T-DNA Pbtg-26GhD10::Axn-2.

Example 17—Generation of Transgenic Soybean Plants Expressing Nematode Resistance Genes

The T-DNA vectors from the Example 16 are introduced into Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains containing a helper Ti-plasmid and used in soybean transformation essentially as described in the patent application WO2014/150449. Homozygous plants and their null segregants are further analyzed as described in the following Examples.

Example 18—Assessment of the Nematode Resistance of Transgenic Soybean Plants Expressing Axmi196, Axmi031, Axmi277 or Axn-2 Under Control of the Pbtg-26GhD10 Promoter

The nematode resistance of the transgenic plants was assessed according to the method described in WO 2011/014749, WO 2007/147029, WO 2014/003769, WO 2010/077858.

In conclusion, the promoter Pbtg-26GhD10 can be used in soybean to confer biotic stress tolerance, like nematode resistance.

Preferred embodiments are summarized in the following paragraphs:

-   1. An isolated nucleic acid having root-preferential,     stress-inducible or stress-induced root-preferential promoter     activity selected from the group consisting of:     -   a. a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:         7 or a functional fragment thereof comprising the nucleotide         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7 from nucleotide position 351 to         nucleotide position 755;     -   b. a nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence having at         least about 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 7, or a         functional fragment thereof; and     -   c. the nucleic acid of a functional promoter capable of         hybridizing under stringent conditions to the nucleotide         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7, or a functional fragment thereof.         wherein said functional fragment comprises at least about 400         consecutive nucleotides upstream of the transcription start of         SEQ ID NO: 7. -   2. A recombinant gene comprising the nucleic acid according to     paragraph 1 operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acid sequence     encoding an expression product of interest, and optionally a     transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence, preferably a     transcription termination and polyadenylation region functional in     plants. -   3. The recombinant gene according to paragraph 2, wherein the     expression product of interest is an RNA molecule capable of     modulating the expression of a gene or is a protein. -   4. A host cell comprising the isolated nucleic acid according to     paragraph 1, or the recombinant gene according to paragraph 2 or 3. -   5. The host cell of paragraph 4 which is an E. coli cell, an     Agrobacterium cell, yeast cell, or a plant cell. -   6. A plant comprising the recombinant gene of paragraph 2 or 3,     preferably stably integrated in the genome of said plant. -   7. Plant parts and seeds obtainable from the plant according to     paragraph 6 which comprise the recombinant gene according to     paragraph 2 or paragraph 3. -   8. The plant or plant cell or plant part or seed according to any     one of paragraphs 5 to 7, which is a cotton plant, or a cotton plant     cell or cotton plant or cotton seed. -   9. The plant or plant cell or plant part or seed according to any     one of paragraphs 5 to 7, which is a soybean plant, or a soybean     plant cell or soybean plant part or soybean seed. -   10. The plant or plant cell or plant part or seed according to any     one of paragraphs 5 to 7, which is a wheat plant, or a wheat plant     cell or wheat plant part or wheat seed. -   11. Method of producing a transgenic plant comprising the steps of:     -   a. introducing or providing the recombinant gene according to         paragraph 2 or 3 to a plant cell to create transgenic cells; and     -   b. regenerating transgenic plants from said transgenic cell. -   12. Method of effecting root-preferential expression of a nucleic     acid comprising introducing the recombinant gene according to     paragraph 2 or 3 into the genome of a plant, or providing the plant     according to paragraph 6. -   13. Method of effecting stress-inducible expression of a nucleic     acid comprising introducing the recombinant gene according to     paragraph 2 or 3 into the genome of a plant, or providing the plant     according to paragraph 6. -   14. Method of effecting stress-induced expression of a nucleic acid     preferentially in the roots comprising introducing the recombinant     gene according to paragraph 2 or 3 into the genome of a plant, or     providing the plant according to paragraph 6. -   15. Method for altering biotic or abiotic stress tolerance, root     architecture, nutrient use efficiency, or yield of a plant, said     method comprising introducing the recombinant gene according to     paragraph 2 or 3 into the genome of a plant, or providing the plant     according to paragraph 6. -   16. Use of the isolated nucleic acid according to paragraph 1 to     regulate expression of an operably linked nucleic acid in a plant. -   17. Use of the isolated nucleic acid according to paragraph 1, or     the recombinant gene according to paragraph 2 or 3 to alter biotic     or abiotic stress tolerance, root architecture, nutrient use     efficiency, or yield in a plant. -   18. Use of the isolated nucleic acid according to paragraph 1 to     identify other nucleic acids comprising root-preferential promoter     activity. -   19. Use of the isolated nucleic acid according to paragraph 1 to     identify other nucleic acids comprising stress-inducible promoter     activity. -   20. Use of the isolated nucleic acid according to paragraph 1 to     identify other nucleic acids comprising stress-induced     root-preferential promoter activity. -   21. The method according to any one of paragraphs 11 to 15, or the     use according to paragraph 17 to 19, wherein said plant is a cotton     plant. -   22. The method according to any one of paragraphs 11 to 15, or the     use according to paragraph 17 to 19, wherein said plant is a soybean     plant. -   23. The method according to any one of paragraphs 11 to 15, or the     use according to paragraph 17 to 19, wherein said plant is a wheat     plant. -   24. A method of producing food, feed, or an industrial product     comprising     -   a) obtaining the plant or a part thereof, of any one of         paragraphs 6 to 10; and     -   b) preparing the food, feed or industrial product from the plant         or part thereof. -   25. The method of paragraph 24 wherein     -   a) the food or feed is oil, meal, grain, starch, flour or         protein; or     -   b) the industrial product is biofuel, fiber, industrial         chemicals, a pharmaceutical or a nutraceutical. -   26. A recombinant gene comprising:     -   (a) a plant expressible promoter selected from         -   i. root-preferential promoter;         -   ii. stress-inducible promoter; or         -   iii. stress-induced root-preferential promoter;     -   (b) a nucleic acid sequence encoding an Annexin protein;     -   (c) and optionally, a transcription termination and         polyadenylation sequence, preferably a transcription termination         and polyadenylation region functional in plants; -   27. The recombinant gene of paragraph 26, wherein said plant     expressible promoter is the Pbtg-26 GhD10 promoter. -   28. The recombinant gene of paragraph 26 or 27, wherein said nucleic     acid encoding an Annexin protein comprises:     -   a. a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14;     -   b. a nucleotide sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 12         or SEQ ID NO: 14;     -   c. a nucleotide sequence of a nucleic acid capable of         hybridizing under stringent conditions to the nucleotide         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14;     -   d. a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of SEQ         ID NO: 13 or SEQ ID NO: 15;     -   e. a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence having         80% identity with SEQ ID NO: 13 or SEQ ID NO: 15;     -   f. a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein comprising four or         more annexin-repeated domains. -   29. A method to increase the yield of a plant under stress condition     comprising:     -   a. providing to cells of said plant a recombinant gene         comprising:         -   i. a heterologous plant expressible promoter;         -   ii. a nucleic acid sequence encoding an Annexin protein;         -   iii. and optionally, a transcription termination and             polyadenylation sequence, preferably a transcription             termination and polyadenylation region functional in plants;     -   b. regenerating said plant;         wherein the increase in yield is compared to the yield in a         control plant. -   30. The method of paragraph 29, wherein said plant expressible     promoter is selected from the group consisting of:     -   a. a root-preferential promoter;     -   b. a stress-inducible promoter; and     -   c. a stress-induced root-preferential promoter. -   31. The method of paragraph 29 or 30, wherein said plant expressible     promoter is the Pbtg-26GhD10 promoter. -   32. The method of paragraph 29, wherein said plant expressible     promoter is a constitutive promoter. -   33. The method of paragraph 29 or 32, wherein said plant expressible     promoter is the CaMV35S promoter. -   34. The method of any one of paragraphs 29 to 33, wherein said     nucleic acid encoding an Annexin protein comprises:     -   a. a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO: 14;     -   b. a nucleotide sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 12         or SEQ ID NO: 14;     -   c. a nucleotide sequence of a nucleic acid capable of         hybridizing under stringent conditions to the nucleotide         sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 or SEQ ID NO 14;     -   d. a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of SEQ         ID NO: 13 or SEQ ID NO: 15;     -   e. a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence having         80% identity with SEQ ID NO: 13 or SEQ ID NO: 15;     -   f. a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein comprising four or         more annexin-repeated domains. -   35. The method of any one of paragraphs 29 to 34, wherein said plant     is cotton. -   36. The method of any one of paragraphs 29 to 34, wherein said plant     is soybean. -   37. The method of any one of paragraphs 29 to 34, wherein said plant     is wheat. -   38. The method of any one of paragraphs 29 to 37, wherein said     stress condition is drought stress. -   39. The method of any one of paragraphs 29 to 37, wherein said     stress condition is occurring during the plant reproductive stage. -   40. The method of any one of paragraphs 29 to 37, wherein said     stress condition is occurring on field-grown plants. -   41. The method of any one of paragraphs 29 to 35, wherein said plant     is cotton and said yield is lint yield. -   42. The method of any one of paragraphs 29 to 37, wherein said yield     is seed yield. -   43. The method of any one of paragraphs 29 to 42, wherein said yield     is increased by at least 5%. -   44. The method of paragraph 43, wherein the yield increased is more     consistently obtained with the method of paragraphs 30 or 31     compared to the method of paragraphs 32 or 33. -   45. A plant cell comprising a recombinant gene as defined in any one     of paragraphs 26 to 28. -   46. A plant consisting essentially of the plant cells of paragraph     45. -   47. Plant parts or seeds obtainable from the plant according to     paragraph 46. -   48. The plant, plant cell, plant part or seed according to any one     of paragraphs 45 to 47, which is a cotton plant, cotton plant cell,     cotton plant part or cotton seed. -   49. The plant, plant cell, plant part or seed according to any one     of paragraphs 45 to 47, which is a soybean plant, soybean plant     cell, soybean plant part or soybean seed. -   50. The plant, plant cell, plant part or seed according to any one     of paragraphs 45 to 47, which is a wheat plant, wheat plant cell,     wheat plant part or wheat seed. 

1-19. (canceled)
 20. A recombinant gene comprising: (a) a root-preferential promoter; (b) a nucleic acid sequence encoding an Annexin protein; and (c) optionally, a transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence.
 21. The recombinant gene of claim 20, wherein the root-preferential promoter is the Pbtg-26GhD10 promoter.
 22. The recombinant gene of claim 20, wherein the nucleic acid encoding an Annexin protein comprises: (i) a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 14 or SEQ ID NO: 16; (ii) a nucleotide sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 14 or SEQ ID NO: 16; (iii) a nucleotide sequence of a nucleic acid capable of hybridizing under stringent conditions to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 14 or SEQ ID NO: 16; (iv) a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 15 or SEQ ID NO: 17; (v) a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence having 80% identity with SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 15 or SEQ ID NO: 17; or (vi) a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein comprising four or more annexin-repeated domains.
 23. A method to increase yield of a plant under a stress condition, comprising: regenerating a plant from plant cells comprising the recombinant gene of claim 20, wherein the increase is compared to a control plant.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein said plant is cotton, soybean or wheat.
 25. The method of claim 23, wherein the stress condition is drought stress.
 26. The method of claim 23, wherein the stress condition occurs during the plant reproductive stage.
 27. The method of claim 23, wherein the stress condition occurs on field-grown plants.
 28. The method of claim 23, wherein the yield is lint yield.
 29. The method of claim 23, wherein the yield is seed yield.
 30. The method of claim 23, wherein the yield is increased by at least 5%.
 31. The method of claim 23, wherein the yield increase is more consistently obtained compared to a method to increase the yield of a plant under a stress condition comprising regenerating a plant comprising plant cells comprising (a) a constitutive plant expressible promoter, (b) a nucleic acid sequence encoding an Annexin protein; and (c) and optionally, a transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence, wherein the nucleic acid encoding an Annexin protein comprises: ((i) a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 14 or SEQ ID NO: 16; (ii) a nucleotide sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 14 or SEQ ID NO: 16; (iii) a nucleotide sequence of a nucleic acid capable of hybridizing under stringent conditions to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12, SEQ ID NO: 14 or SEQ ID NO: 16; (iv) a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 15 or SEQ ID NO: 17; (v) a nucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence having 80% identity with SEQ ID NO: 13, SEQ ID NO: 15 or SEQ ID NO: 17; or (vi) a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein comprising four or more annexin-repeated domains.
 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the constitutive plant expressible promoter is a CaMV35S promoter.
 33. The method of claim 31, wherein the transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence is functional in plants.
 34. A plant cell comprising the recombinant gene of claim
 20. 35. A plant comprising the plant cell of claim
 34. 36. A plant part obtainable from the plant of claim
 35. 37. The plant cell of claim 34, which is cotton, wheat or soybean.
 38. The plant of claim 35, which is cotton, wheat or soybean.
 39. The recombinant gene of claim 20, wherein the transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence is functional in plants. 